Dharmendra Pradhan takes swipe at Odisha CM

The Hindu quoted Pradhan as saying, "More than 200 farmers, as per media reports, have ended their lives. In the past, we have urged the State government to admit that farmers were committing suicide due to crop loss following drought and debt burden. There is no harm in admitting that farmers are committing suicides."

Pradhan said that the Odisha government is negligent of facts and even refused a probe into the matter.

"The BJP had demanded a judicial commission under the chairmanship of a sitting judge of the Orissa High Court to ascertain if there was any truth in claims of the Opposition parties, media reports and submission of farmer associations. But the State government did not act on this," he said.

He also urged the Odisha government to pay compensation to the farmers, like some other states in the country.

He said, "Maharashtra, Telengana and Andhra Pradesh have been paying compensation to farmers committing suicides due to agricultural reasons from their own budget. The authority to certify deaths rests with the District Collectors in those States. Smooth mechanism is in place for paying compensation to farmers. The Odisha government must not side-step the truth."

He also said that the matter of farmer suicide is a serious one and should not be overlooked as anything else.

"The farmer suicide should not be made an ego issue. In democracy, governments must listen to what people are saying. The government’s claim that suicides are happening for love affairs and alcoholism is adding insult to injury," the Petroleum Minister added.