Despite PM's 'guarantees', farmers are committing suicide: Sharad Pawar

"On one side, there is 'Modi Ki Guarantee' but on the other side, somewhere someone (referring to farmers) is committing suicide," Pawar said

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said on one hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi is giving various "guarantees" to farmers, but on the other cultivators are committing suicide due to growing debt.

Addressing NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) workers at a conclave at Manchar in Ambegaon tehsil, the home turf of Maharashtra Cabinet minister Dilip Walse Patil in Pune district, the former Union agriculture minister painted a grim picture of the farm sector. "Today, farmers are facing hardships in the country.

He toils hard but despite that he does not get remunerative price for his products. If input cost is high and output is low, then it leads to farmers getting debt-ridden and due to this situation, farmers take extreme steps. Such a scenario is currently prevalent in the country," said the veteran politician.

Newspapers and television channels are full of advertisements where the PM is seen offering various "guarantees" to farmers such as good price and market for their produce, said the Rajya Sabha member. "On one side, there is 'Modi Ki Guarantee' but on the other side, somewhere someone (referring to farmers) is committing suicide," said the senior politician while slamming the Centre for its policies.

Targeting Walse Patil, his one-time confidant who was among the rebel NCP MLAs, Pawar said earlier generations of leaders from the area were loyal to their party and did not compromise on ideology, but that is no longer the case now.

"These present leaders do not show any loyalty to their own party, then how can we expect them to be loyal to their voters," he said. Walse Patil is a key member of the NCP led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who joined the Shinde government in July last year.