It came as a further embarrassment to the Naveen Patnaik Government when ruling BJD’s Bhubaneswar MP Prasanna Patsani demanded a Whitepaper on farmers’ suicide on Tuesday.
Patsani is the third BJD leader after MPs Nagendra Pradhan and Pinaki Misra to make such a demand that clearly means that the Government should take responsibility for peasant deaths and act accordingly.
“Private moneylenders are charging higher interest which is a reason behind farmers committing suicide. Unfortunately, all the death cases have been linked to crop loss and loan burden. So, a Whitepaper on the issue can only clarify the reasons of the deaths,” said Patsani.
He said three farmer death cases have been reported in his constituency.
“Upon inquiry, it was found that a man committed suicide by consuming poison after a quarrel with his wife while another died of heart attack in his shop,” claimed Patsani.
Admitting that some death cases are due to crop failure and debt burden, Patsani opined that an inquiry should be conducted into all deaths reported from various parts of the State.