RAIPUR: Uproarious scenes continued for the second day of the monsoon session of the Chhattisgarh Assembly Wednesday with the Congress demanding the resignation of cabinet minister Brijmohan Agrawal following allegations that his family deceitfully purchased 4.12 hectares of forest land in 2009.
The uproar took place even as the state government tried to blame farmers suicides in the state on excessive liquor consumption, family tussles and illness. But the leader of the opposition T S Singhdeo lashed out at the government saying it has lost focus on farmer issues. “Can the government answer why three districts of the state have witnessed the maximum number of suicides,” he asked.
Parliamentary secretary Govardhan Majhi defended the government on the farmer issue. “Farmers are happy with the state government’s welfare schemes. None of the farmers has committed suicide owing to loan or crop failure,” he said in response to Congress state president Bhupesh Baghel’s remark that since June 12 as many as 24 farmers have committed suicide in Chhattisgarh.
Outside the Assembly, an umbrella body of farmers, the Chhattisgarh Pragatisheel Kisan Sangathan has asked the state government to constitute a judicial commission to investigate the causes of farmer suicides in the state.