Opposition Congress walks out of Madhya Pradesh Assembly over farmer suicides

BHOPAL: Opposition Congress today walked out of the budget session of Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly here, accusing the ruling BJP government of being callous over the growing number of farmer suicides across the state.

In reply to Congress member Ramniwas Rawat's question regarding farmer suicides, MP Home Minister Babulal Gaur said that 1,662 people including 108 farmers and 160 peasants ended their lives due to different reasons during last year.

Gaur admitted that several farmers had committed suicide and said that efforts were on to open yoga centres to overcome this problem.

However, Rawat alleged that farmers were ending lives due to debts and the state government was not at all sensitive to their plight.

The Congress member said that 22 people and 5 farmers were ending their lives daily in MP and this was a disturbing trend that needs to be checked immediately.

Gaur outrightly denied the allegation that the state government wasn't worried on the issue.

He said that MP has become the first state in India to lend loans to farmers at zero per cent interest. He also listed a number of schemes being run for farmers' welfare in the state.