MP minister’s foot in mouth: Why such uproar over farmers’ deaths? MLAs die too!

Special Correspondent

NewsBits.in

BHOPAL: State panchayat and rural development minister Gopal Bhargava has raised heckles with a controversial statement about farmers’ deaths. He has also sought to compare it with deaths of MLAs.

The minister has said why such uproar is created over farmers’ death only. “Ten MLAs have died recently in front of my eyes. Don’t we too face stress? Some die of brain haemorrhage, while some die of other causes. We travel so much and our lives are always in danger. Then whey such commotion and uproar is created only over deaths of farmers?” the minister said in Sagar on Thursday.

The minister’s statement would not go down well with many since Madhya Pradesh has seen a spate of farmers’ suicide during past few months. Most of these suicides were because of financial crisis and failure to pay loans.

Later, the minister tried to balance his stance by saying that he had full sympathy for farmers but added that what could be done as every section of society had their own problems. “MLAs face stress for getting their constituency development, students face stress of studies, traders face stress of losses of so on,” he said.

He added that some of these people also commit suicide and therefore along with farmers, these deaths should be discussed and pondered upon too. “The point is that rather than causing commotion over farmers’ deaths, people should collect donation and help out the aggrieved families,” the minister said.