Madhya Pradesh minister Balkrishna Patidar on Sunday appeared to downplay farmer deaths in his state by saying that suicide was a "world problem".
When asked about why Madhya Pradesh ranked third on the list of farmer suicides, Patidar responded, "Who does not commit suicide?"
"The trader does it. The police commissioner also does it. Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) also end up doing it, and so do the laborers," he said. "Suicide is not something only we face. It is a world problem."
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister also said that struggle was the way of life.
"The one who commits suicide, only he knows why. We can only speculate. However, there is no reason to commit suicide in this world as the struggle is the means of life," he concluded.
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