Case filed against agriculture minister over farmers' protest remark

Muzaffarpur : A case was registered against Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh here on Monday over his remark on the ongoing farmers' strike.The Agriculture Minister had called the 10-day farmer strike, which started on Friday, a mere "media gimmick".

Speaking at a press conference in Patna, Singh had said "There are around 12 to 14 crore farmers in the country. It is normal for any farmer's organisation to have 1000-2000 farmers and they have to do something extraordinary to get the media's attention."

Earlier today, protesters in Nagpur spilled milk on road against Singh's remark and distributed milk to locals who came up with utensils requesting for it.On June 1, thousands of farmers in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana began the nationwide strike demanding waiver of loans, right price for their crops and implementation of recommendations of Swaminathan Commission.

The protests were called to mark the first anniversary of the Mandsaur demonstration in Madhya Pradesh, wherein six farmers were killed in police firing last year. The farmers have shut down the supply of milk, vegetables and essential farm produce due to which the prices of the same have hiked in the markets.Additionally, nine cases were registered and as many as 16 farmers were arrested in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday.