Karnataka farmers suicide: Congress top brass worried

Belagavi: Taking serious note of the spate of farmer suicides in the last month, the All India Congress Committee(AICC) has reportedly sought complete details from Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah on how he has tackled the issue.

The central leadership seems keen to keep party vice president Rahul Gandhi’s visits to distressed farmers an unhindered and unblemished affair and does not want farmer suicides in Karnataka to become a dampener or an embarassment.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a source in Delhi said, “AICC is deeply worried over why the state government had delayed acting on farmer suicides, an issue on which AICC vice-president, Rahul Gandhi was campaigning elsewhere in the country.”

The source observed that Mr Siddaramaiah’s decision to announce Rs 923 crore package for sugarcane farmers on Tuesday was the direct result of the AICC’s intervention. “Soon after the news of farmer suicides reached Delhi, backroom operations were launched and suitable instructions were passed on to Mr Siddaramaiah to announce the package. We feel we have prevented bigger damage to the party image which would have happened if the state government had delayed its decision,” the source explained.

According to the source, the AICC has now sought complete details about the nature of the incentive package announced for farmers and also the details of those farmers who have committed suicide.

“The immediate fallout of this directive is that the state government should act tough on money lenders too as this solution was evolved based on the Maharashtra model. After many farmers committed suicide in the drought prone Vidarbha region, the Maharashtra government had acted tough on private money lenders and this advice was given to Mr Siddaramaiah too,” the source stated.

MLAs to Siddaramaiah: We gave opposition a whip to beat us

Expressing displeasure over the state government’s decision to release sugarcane arrears of Rs 923 crore in two installments, a section of Congress legislators on Wednesday slammed the coterie of the CM for deferring the decision for so long.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a senior leader said, “Mr Siddaramiah took this decision after a lot of hullabaloo over farmers’ deaths, had he taken the same decision a fortnight ago, it would have deprived both opposition parties Janata Dal (S) and BJP a weapon to get connected with the people in north-Karnataka region. Even though, the state government has taken a decision to release Rs 200 per tonne in instalments, it is seen as a major victory for the BJP, which has a major say in the sugarcane growing region.”

The source added that legislators wanted Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah along with Home minister, K. J. George to take initiatives to implement the Money Lending Act in the strictest possible manner. “Money lending is thriving and in most cases, the suicide of farmers is linked to this. This is a clear case to prove that policing in the state has failed miserably. Without police connivance, money lending cannot thrive,” a senior legislator told reporters on the condition of anonymity.