Opposition Congress on Friday sought a report from the Odisha government on the cause of farmer suicides in the state, alleging that the Naveen Patnaik-led dispensation was indifferent to their plight.
Congress Legislature Party Leader Narasingha Mishra, during a debate in the Assembly, claimed that "at least four farmers have committed suicide in July" due to crop loss and debt burden.
"Farmers in Bolangir, Bargarh, Balasore and Jagatsinghpur have committed suicide as scanty rainfall in the state led to huge crop loss. The incidents of suicide are on rise in the state as the government failed to provide irrigation facilities," Mishra said.
Odisha's Agriculture and Farmer Empowerment Minister Arun Kumar Sahoo, however, contended that farm-related issues were not the reason behind the suicides.
"It is a fact that the farmers have committed suicide. But the reason is something else and not related to agricultural activities," Sahoo said without elaborating any further.
Mishra, on his part, maintained that the Centre and the state have done little to allay farmers' problems.
"What will a poor farmer do after crop loss? They are already burdened by debts and loans," he said.
Taking a dig at Sahoo, he said, "Even when BJD MP Prasanna Acharya admitted in the Rajya Sabha that farmers in the state have taken their lives due to crop loss and loan burden, the minister of the same party in Odisha claims otherwise. Is it not double standard on the part of the BJD?"
The Congress leader also alleged that the BJP government at the Centre did not live up to its promises.
"Before the 2014 general election, the BJP had announced that the farmers will get 1.5 times more than the cost of production. This promise has not been fulfilled," Mishra claimed.
No other BJP member, however, participated in the debate as they were protesting against the passage of supplementary budget in the House without discussion.
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