The agrarian distress in Madhya Pradesh continued to claim lives, with at least two debt-ridden farmers allegedly committing suicide in the last 48 hours, including one from Jajna village which falls under the Budhni Assembly constituency which Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan represents.
As the political temperatures rose, Congress’s Madhya Pradesh heavyweight Jyotiraditya Scindia and Gujarat’s Patel quota stir spearhead Hardik Patel were turned back by the police before they could enter Mandsaur, the hub of the recent farmers’ agitation.
Political leaders and social activists have continued to make futile attempts to visit Mandsaur despite peace having returned there. The Chief Minister, who came under severe attack from the Opposition following the agrarian unrest, had called off his fast on Sunday, 28 hours after its launch, claiming peace had been restored.
Congress MLA booked
In a related development, Congress MLA Shakuntala Khatik was booked for allegedly inciting people to set ablaze a police station, amid violent protests by farmers last week.
Dulchand Kheer (55), a resident of Jajna village, Rehti tehsil in Sehore district, consumed some poisonous substance on Monday. “The circumstances surrounding his death is a matter of investigation,” Pankaj Geete, SHO of Rehti police station, said. The police registered a case on Tuesday.
The farmer was having a debt of ₹6 lakh, alleged the Madhya Pradesh unit of the Aam Aadmi Party, whose leaders visited the family. He incurred a bank debt of ₹4 lakh and a debt of ₹2 lakh from Sahukars (local businessman), alleged Alok Agrawal, State president of the AAP. The farmer owns nine acres.
Makhan Lal Digolia, a 68-year-old farmer of Bahiravpur village in Hoshangabad district, hanged himself from a tree on Tuesday. His son Rakesh Lohwanshi alleged that his father had taken a loan of ₹7 lakh from local moneylenders and had also sold nearly 7 acres in the past two years to repay the escalating interests. “My father was very depressed about the loan repayment,” he told media persons.
On Sunday, Mr. Chouhan announced a slew of measures to end the farmer unrest that claimed five lives in police firing since violent protests broke out last week.
( With PTI inputs )
