The Congress today sought to link incidents of farmer suicides in Maharashtra with alleged non-availability of guaranteed employment under MGNREGA, "besides other factors hitting the farmers hard."
"There is nothing to be surprised that incidents of suicide by farmers has increased in Vidarbha, Maharashtra due to non-availability of guaranteed employment under MGNREGA following the Centre's malicious intent to scrap it," AICC General Secretary Shakeel Ahmed said here.
Besides, he said agriculture growth decreased to 1.1 per cent in the last fiscal compared to 4.7 per cent in 2013-14.
Ahmed said the agriculture produce was hit by hailstorms and there was crisis of fertiliser "that hit the farmers badly.
