Farmer suicides a blot on India: Shobha Karandlaje

Mysuru: Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shobha Karandlaje said that farmers suicide was a shame on the country. "We will instil confidence among them," she said.

Speaking after inaugurating Janashirvada Yatre, organised by BJP at a private hotel here on Wednesday, she said that a study confirmed that the suicide rate among farmers who took up dairy farming, piggery and poultry was less and called upon farmers to take up other income-generating activities to improve their economic standards. She said the new agriculture laws are not anti-farmer and those staging protests are middlemen and not farmers. The genuine farmers did not oppose the bills, Shobha maintained and said Afghanistan is an example of what happens if opposition parties side with the evil forces. "The Congress is supporting such traitors even now," she alleged.

She said the kind of respect extended to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at global summits by leaders of world countries was not given to any his predecessors.

Shobha said for the first time in the history of Indian parliament opposition parties did not allow introduction of new cabinet members and hence the Yatre was launched. State Co-operation Minister S T Somashekar, MLC Tulasi Muniraj Gowda and others were present at the launch of Yatre.