One farmer dying every hour in BJP rule: Congress

A farmer, who allegedly killed himself, had written that PM Modi was concerned only with himself, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said

 The Congress on September 20 held the policies of the ruling BJP dispensation responsible for farmer suicides in the country and claimed that one farmer ended his life every hour.

Pune-based farmer Dashrath Lakshman Kedari, who allegedly killed himself on September 17, in his suicide note said he did not have any money to pay back his loans and held the BJP Government's policies responsible for his death, party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate told reporters.

"Kedari also said he was ending his life due to helplessness. He sought reasonable MSP [Minimum Support Price] for farm produce as a farmers' right and blamed the policies of the incumbent government for his decision to end life," Ms. Shrinate said at a press conference.

The farmer had also written that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was concerned only with himself, she added.

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The Congress leader said as many as 10,881 people involved in agriculture ended their lives in 2021, which was 6.6% of 1,64,033 suicides last year.

"This means, every day 30 farmers are dying by suicide and every hour more than one farmer is dying," she said.