Cabinet briefing & Agri Min press conference cancelled

A day after five farmers were killed in Madhya Pradesh, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh today called off a cabinet briefing and a scheduled press conference here.
The press conference, slated to focus on the "successful completion" of the government's 'Swachhta Pakhwada' programme, has been "postponed due to unavoidable reasons", an official statement said.
Farmers have been protesting since June 1 in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, demanding loan waivers and higher minimum support prices among other agriculture benefits.
Meanwhile, Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu has blamed the Congress for "instigating" protesters in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur, where five farmers were killed yesterday.

"It is a very sad turn of events in a state that is the most peaceful state in India. The Congress is trying to politicise farmers' problems after they failed to counter (Chief Minister) Shivraj Singh Chouhan politically in the state," Naidu said on the sidelines of a function.