There seems to be no end to the unfortunate farmer suicides in the Congress-ruled states, as another debt-ridden farmer of Patiala, Punjab was found hanging himself from a ceiling fan on Sunday evening, as per reports.
According to reports, a 40-year-old debt-ridden farmer Gurmel Singh allegedly committed suicide after he was unable to repay the farm loans. In his suicide note, the victim cited mounting debts as the reason and also stated that the state government did not provide any relief.
“I am committing suicide due to the burden of the loan and the state government is responsible for my suicide,” Gurmel Singh wrote in his two-page suicide note.
Reportedly, Singh had availed a loan of Rs 4 lakh against his two-acre land and was expecting relief from the state government. The villagers said that Gurmel Singh did not get any relief from the state government and was distressed like other farmers as they could not fulfill the conditions of the crop loan waiver scheme.
The deceased named six persons and a firm in the suicide note for not making his payments related to a home-run battery shop.
The police have registered a case against the six persons and the firm under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the IPC. Those booked are Parminder Singh, Bhinder Singh, Dutt, Gora Singh, Jagtar Singh, and Dharma Singh.
Harmel Singh of the farmers’ union BKU Ugrahan, said, “A case should also be registered against the state government. The Congress government has failed to fulfill its poll promise of a complete loan waiver. Farmers who have taken a loan above Rs 2 lakhs are not being considered for the waiver.”
Recently, another farmer in Bathinda had committed suicide due to the loan burden. Ironically, just days ago, Punjab Congress leaders had claimed that PM Modi is wrong to criticise the Punjab government as they have cleared the loans of lakhs of farmers in their state.
Family members of the victim today held a protest against the police for inaction against those responsible for his suicide. However, Gurmeet Singh, Station House Officer, Kotwali, Nabha, said, “We have not made any arrests, but investigations are underway.”
Rahul Gandhi led Congress which came to power in various states promising several sops of loan waivers, high MSP to the farmers seems to have started on a very bad note. The politics of false promises of loan-waiver by the Congress party has already taken three lives in Madhya Pradesh.
In addition to this, rumors of another loan-waiver scam have been brewing in the state of Rajasthan as farmers have accused Congress of involving in a huge scam after thousands of fake names appeared in the list of beneficiaries. The Congress governments in both Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are also facing severe outrage from the farmers within weeks of their government formation, as both governments in the respective states had created a crisis by mismanaging the supply of urea.
