BRS leader asks farmers to lob bombs at ministers if state continues to ignore losses due to heavy rains

A Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader in Maharashtra has told farmers that if the state continues to ignore the losses they have suffered in the fields due to heavy rains, they should attack the ministers.

The remark from Raju Todsam, a former legislator who recently joined the BRS, came at a farmers' rally in Yavatmal on Friday.

"You have suffered so much loss, but unfortunately I have to tell you that the guardian minister has not paid any attention; the local brother (MLA) has not paid any attention," Todsam said at the rally. "Henceforth, you should be ready for either the guardian minister or the local MLA ... Once you see the local representative, attack them with bombs. Without taking these steps they would not improve."


Todsam, a former legislator from the BJP, has been in the news earlier too. An audio clip that surfaced in 2017 of a person extorting money from a contractor is alleged to be his voice. After being denied a ticket by the BJP in 2019, Todsam had joined the Nationalist Congress Party. He has now joined the BRS. In 2015, he was convicted for assaulting a government official.

The BRS is projecting itself as the only party that can provide relief to the farmers in the state. It has promised that if voted to power, they will provide ₹10,000 per acre to farmers and also provide free water for irrigation.