The ruling BJP in farmers’ suicide-hit Maharashtra found itself in an embarrassing situation on Thursday, as its north-Mumbai MP Gopal Shetty courted a controversy over his remark that it had become a “fashion” or a “trend” for the State Governments to compete with one another to pay higher compensation to the next of kin of farmers committing suicides.
Shetty’s statement earned him a severe flak from various quarters all through the day, with the Opposition Congress charging that his comment smacked of “insensitivity” on the part of the BJP Government at a time when there was absolutely no let up in the continuing farmers’ suicides in the State.
A chastened Shetty sought to made amends on Thursday, by saying that he had inadvertently used the word “fashion” in place of “competition”, when he meant to say that a competition had erupted among various states to pay higher competition to farmers committing suicides.
Shetty said that his comment had been “distorted” and taken out of context by the media. “My statement was completely distorted and I never intended to say that farmers are committing suicide to get money from the Government,” the BJP MP said.
However, there were no takers for his clarification in the Opposition which slammed both the BJP and its MP for his reckless comment.
Speaking on the sidelines of a function at Borivli in north Mumbai, Shetty had said on Wednesday: “It is not necessary that all farmers’ suicides are because of unemployment or starvation. But, what we are seeing today is either a fashion or trend on the part of the State Government. If Maharashtra Government is giving five lakh rupees as compensation, then some other State announces seven to eight lakh rupees as compensation. There is competition among the State Government in giving higher compensations to farmers committing suicides”.
Ironically enough, Shetty’s remarks have come at a time when Maharashtra continues to under an agrarian crisis with 124 farmers committing suicide in the State since January this year.
Hitting at Shetty for his “insensitive” remark, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Ashok Chavan said: “Shetty’s statement is unfortunate, condemnable and it is bound to hurt distressed farmers in the state. The BJP Government’s apathy towards the agrarian crisis in the State can be gauged from the fact that even after a staggering 3,000 farmers committed suicide in the State during the past one year, the Devendra Fadnavis Government has not extended any relief to the affected farmers and their families. Shetty’s comment only reflects the State Government’s attitude – while it does not want to reach out to the affected farmers, it has issues if some other Government does so”.
leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said that Shetty’s remark was like rubbing salt on the wounds of the aggrieved farmers in the state. “Shetty’s remarks smack of insensitivity on the part of the BJP-led saffron alliance Government in the state. If the BJP had concern for the distressed farmers, it would have a long ago waived the loans taken by them…”.
Mumbai Congress Committee President Sanjay Nirupam, who had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Shetty in the 2014 lok Sabha polls, also trained his gun at the BJP MP, by saying: “At a time when Maharashtra is going through its worst—ever agrarian crisis, Shetty’s remarks show how insensitive he and his party are towards thousands of farmers who have committed suicide due to debt and crop failure”..
Earlier in the day, Shetty had said in his clarification: “I was asked by a reporter that wasn’t it a failure of BJP government in the State that 124 farmers committed sucideIJ To this, I replied that the Fadnavis government is doing a tremendous job through schemes like ‘Jal Shivar Yojana’ and it will take time for their benefit to reach farmers. Suicides will not stop overnight because the last government did nothing to stop such suicidal trend in last 15 years”.
“I also said that nowadays there has been a fashion to disperse money by all State Governments in the country. One State Government gives Rs 5 lakh, another Government gives Rs 7 to 8 lakh, while another Government is giving 9 lakhs to the deceased’s family,” he said.
“Instead of saying there is competition among States to announce higher compensation for distressed farmers, I had inadvertently said that it had become a fashion or trend among the State Governments to announce higher compensation to the suicide-hit families, “ Shetty said.