Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Jul 13, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Jul 13, 2004 |
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Agri-Biz & Commodities
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Natural Calamities Government - Politics Uproar in Kerala Assembly over suicides by farmers Our Bureau
Thiruvananthapuram , July 12 UNENDING reports of suicides by farmers in Palakkad and Wayanad districts led to an uproar in the State Assembly and triggered a walkout by the Opposition on Monday. An adjournment motion moved earlier had been disallowed, which forced members to rise from their seats and rush into the well of the House. They raised slogans against the Government and demanded resignation of the Agriculture Minister, who, they said, had suppressed facts relating to farmer suicides. The Government's bid to keep the deaths under a wrap had led to the bereaved families forfeiting their claim to financial assistance from the central Government, they alleged. The trigger for Monday's uproarious scenes in the House was the reports on death of three farmers in less than six days in Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad and Wayanad districts. What added fuel to the sentiments was the statement in Parliament by the Union Minister for Food and Agriculture, Mr Sharad Pawar, that no farmer suicide had been reported from Kerala. The Union Minister was led into believing that things were hunky-dory in the State, the Opposition said. On her part, the Agriculture Minister, Ms K.R. Gowri, who tried hard to make herself heard above the din, stated that at no time had the State Government mentioned that farmers in the affected areas were not facing problems after nature vented its fury on them. The State Government had only sought to inform the Centre that neither the FIRs nor the inquest reports that were filed had failed to pinpoint the exact context under which farmers had resorted to take the extreme step. But her entreaties only seemed to further infuriate the Opposition members. They rushed into the well, demanding to know why the Minister had suppressed facts on the deaths. A short while later, they marched out and staged a sit-in in the foyer. Deaths `politicised': Meanwhile, the Minister for Information and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr M.M. Hassan, charged the Opposition with having politicised the issue of suicide by farmers. Speaking to newspersons in response to the Opposition behaviour on the floor of the House, Mr Hassan said it was regrettable that the Opposition was seeking to make political capital out of a most unfortunate but deeply emotive issue of mounting debts that are driving farmers to suicide.
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