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Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Saturday hit out at the Kerala government after a farmer died by suicide in Alappuzha's Kuttanad.
MoS Muraleedharan accused the state government of mismanagement pointing it to "utter disregard and neglect" of farmers. Muraleedharan said, "One more Farmer commitee suicide in Kuttanad of Alleppey District, last year also the same incident happened, this year it was due to mismanagement in collecting rice and other materials." "It shows the utter disregard and neglect of the farmers, particularly of the paddy farmers of Kerala by the state government," he added. The Union Minister further criticised it for not giving due importance to paddy farmers. "The problem is that the state government has not given due importance to the paddy farmers. This government, when it came to power, they were giving Rs 7.80 as a share of the state government. After seven years, it remains the same. Whereas the union government has increased it from Rs 14 to Rs 22. There has been a 50 per cent increase. The state government has not cared to raise a single pie," he said. Reportedly, Prasad, a farmer in the Kuttanad region of Alappuzha, died by suicide after allegedly failing to fund his paddy cultivation. Earlier today, the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, VD Satheesan, expressed his concern over the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan-led state government's failure in paddy procurement, attributing the recent farmer suicide to this neglect. (ANI)
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