Describing the ruling dispensation 'an anti-farmer government', Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is interested only in his 'industrialist friends'.
The Gandhi scion's remarks came in the wake of Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh's remark where the latter said that 'love affairs or impotency' was the cause of farmer suicides in India.
"I advise the Prime Minister to call his ministers and ask them to visit farmers' houses and see what is going on. The Central Government is an 'anti-farmer government', Prime Minister Modi is only interested in his 'industrialist friends'," Gandhi told the media here.
With more than 1,400 farmer suicides reported in the country since last year, a question was raised in the Rajya Sabha on the reasons behind the deaths.
"According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), causes of (farmer) suicides include family problems, illness, drugs... dowry, love affairs and impotency," Singh said in a written reply.
Singh has, however, defended his statement and said that he was only quoting the figures provided by the National Crime Records Bureau.
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