The Opposition Congress and the ruling BJP members on Friday attacked each other over the issue of suicides by farmers in the lok Sabha, as the former accused the Government of doing nothing to help the crisis-hit peasants, not waiving off of farm loans and implementing the Swaminathan Commission report.
The protests from the congress started as soon as the Question Hour started and continued during the Zero Hour with Congress members trooping into the Well and shouting slogans.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar accused the Congress of "shedding crocodile tears", noting that it had walked out of the House on Wednesday when other members sat for hours to debate the issue.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Deepender Hooda (Cong) said the farmers had hit the streets from Andhra Pradesh to Haryana and Madhya Pradesh and his party was not satisfied with the Government's reply as it did touch upon the demand for waiving off of farm loans and implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report. BJP members kept asking what the Congress Government did for the past 60 years, he said, retorting that farmers were deeper into debt in the last three years of the NDA Government than they were ever earlier.
Congress soon staged a walkout after Parliamentary Affairs Minister demanded to know as why their leaders did not present on Wednesday even as a long discussion on the farmers issue went till late in the night in the House.