Accusing the BJD government in Odisha of attempting to suppress the cases of unabated farmer suicides, BJP today demanded a judicial probe into government's handling of the situation.
"Hit by severe drought, crop failure and debt burden, farmers are committing suicide. However, the state government is trying to suppress these cases to hide its inability to prevent such tragedies," senior BJP leader and former state revenue minister Bisabhushan Harichandan told reporters.
Asking the state government to make public its policy and strategy to deal with farmer suicide instead of trying to cover up the tragic incidents, Harichandan said farmer suicide cases were not properly inquired into by district administrations.
Claiming that ruling BJD MPs and its other leaders have admitted that farmers have committed suicide due to crop failure and debt burden, the BJP leader demanded a high-level judicial probe into the role of the government and officials in dealing with the entire situation.
Wanting the state government to spell out its plan to rehabilitate and help families of farmers who committed suicide, Harichandan said assistance of Rs 10 lakh each should be provided to families of the deceased farmers.
The government should waive agriculture loans and conduct an inquiry to ascertain the number of organisations and banks who had lent money to farmers, he said.
Accusing the state government of having failed to send a detailed report about the drought situation to the Centre, he said that water bodies and ponds should be renovated and readied immediately for the rabi crop.
