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Congress holds Patel, Naidu responsible for farmers's suicide

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

The Congress on Tuesday blamed the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka for the spate of suicides by cotton farmers in the two states.

A four member committee, appointed by party president Sonia Gandhi and led by senior Congress leader and former agriculture minister Balram Jakhar, which visited the two states, said the chief ministers failed to protect the interests of the farming community; that the relief they promised is yet to reach the farmers.

Jakhar came down heavily on Andhra Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. "A complete failure on the part of the state government to provide facilities to the farmer community has led to the agonising tragedy," he told reporters in New Delhi.

The Andhra agriculture department and local administration failed to see the importance of providing pure seeds and pesticides to farmers, who were forced to purchase adulterated and sub-standard seeds at exorbitant rates. The spurious pesticides aggravated the situation, Jakhar said.

Emphasising that money-lenders had fleeced the hapless farmers by giving them loans at interest rates ranging from 40 to 50 per cent, he said the state government failed to take any action against these sharks.

Jakhar said that despite being apprised the magnitude of the problem, Naidu only gave verbal assurances.

Referring to the farmers in Karnataka, Jakhar said Chief Minister J H Patel was "unavailable."

The casual attitude of state leaders towards the problem made it obvious that they were busy with party politics, Jakhar said, adding that the wives and children of the affected farmers were still awaiting succour.

While underlining various measures that must immediately be undertaken by the state governments, Jakhar demanded that free education be given to the children of the deceased.

UNI

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