Congress gives Rs 1 lk to kin of farmer who immolated himself

Gujarat Congress chief Arjun Modhwadia and other Congress leaders today met the family members of Arvind Nagani who immolated himself during the ongoing agitation of farmers for increase in the minimum support price of cotton.
Modhwadia handed over a cheque of Rs one lakh to Nagani's parents on behalf of the party, according to a release.
Modhwadia was accompanied by Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Shankersinh Vaghela, former MP Somabhai Patel and Congress MLA Prain Rathod, among others.
On December 17, Nagani (21) allegedly consumed pesticide and later set himself on fire at Vinchhiya town marketing yard in Rajkot district.

Modhwadia alleged that farmers were being forced to commit suicides as they were getting very low price for cotton.
"Nagani feared that he and his family will have to bear a huge burden of debt if they did not get a good price for the cotton they grew. Out of that fear, he set himself on fire. This is very unfortunate on the part of Gujarat government, which is not ready to address the issue of MSP," he said.
"Due to low MSP of almost every commodity, farmers are pushed to the edge of bankruptcy. To ease that burden, I demand that government should provide free education to the children of all the farmers in the state," Modhwadia said.

Vaghela urged the farmers not to take the extreme step.