News Politics National Farmers' suicides a national agony, says Modi

Farmers' suicides a national agony, says Modi

Yavatmal/Wardha (Maharashtra): BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi Thursday interacted via video conferencing with around 1,500 farmers from across the country, and said farmers committing suicide after being hit by natural calamities or economic crises

Stating that nearly three dozen farmers have committed suicide in the past four days in Maharashtra, he demanded why the money that belongs to the farmers is not being disbursed to them.

"They (the UPA) announce packages but give nothing. They are not concerned about how water reaches the farmers. The need of the hour is to equip the farmers with latest technology," he said.

He assured that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will ensure proper relief to farmers affected by natural calamities and financial difficulties.

Lashing out at Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Modi said that though India has great potential in agriculture, farmers are dying everywhere.

"The union agriculture minister should answer: when cotton harvest was good, global demand rose, farmers were getting global orders, then why was cotton export banned? For whose benefit was it done?" he asked.