Farmers Condemn Agriculture Minister’s Comments, Stages Protest

A 10-day farmers agitation is underway across several states, in demand for better prices and loan waivers to pull them out of debt traps. The farmers refused to send their produce to urban centres, at places throwing vegetables and milk on roads as a mark of protest. On Saturday, Union Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh expressed his opinion on the protests. The minister suggested that the protests were an exercise to get media attention.

Radha Mohan Singh sharply criticised by the opposition for what the Congress says are "insensitive remarks". But he isn't the only senior BJP leader to attempt to run down the protests.

Manohar Lal Khattar, Haryana Chief Minister, has called the farmers' protests "pointless". "There is no issue," Khattar said.

"By saying they won't sell farmers' produce they'll only cause losses to the farmers," he said, as per ANI.

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"The country has about 12-14 crore farmers. There will always be organisations with a following of 1,000, 500, 2,000, 40,000, 50,000 farmers. And it requires some unusual deeds to appear in the media. This is natural," the minister said at a media interaction where he highlighted that the production and productivity of the farm sector had improved during the NDA government's four years.

The Congress's RPN Singh said the BJP had promised farmers the moon when they were in the opposition. Once in power, the party only exploited them.

"Farmers in his state are Happy with the schemes that chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched for them," Madhya Pradesh agriculture minister Balkrishna Patidar claimed. "It is 2nd June today. Where is the strike? The protests had had no impact," he claimed.

(With inputs from agencies)