Chandigarh, Apr 29 (NDTV): At a time when farmer suicides have caught national attention, a minister in Haryana has said that farmers who commit suicide are "cowards" and implied that they don't deserve the government's support.
"Suicide is a crime. According to Indian law, suicide is a crime. A person who commits suicide runs away from his responsibilities. Such people are cowards and the government cannot stand by such cowards or criminals," Haryana's agriculture minister OP Dhankar said on Tuesday.
On Monday, the state Chief Minister ML Khattar had criticised the previous Congress government for being "insensitive" to farmers and then announced a compensation of Rs. 1,092 crore for farmers who have suffered massive crop loss because of unusual rain.
Farmer suicides became the focus of a national debate after a man from Rajasthan hanged himself at an Aam Aadmi Party rally in Delhi.