A group of protesting farmers surrounded Karnataka Agriculture Minister BC Patil in Mysuru on Wednesday in response to the minister's comments attributing farmer suicides to 'weakness of mind' rather than government policies. "If you have any responsibility, ensure the functioning of the government. What does the government mean by we are examining this issue?," a farmer, Basavaraju, said while directing his ire at BC Patil.
To this, BC Patil asked the farmer his name and said, "Each department has its own work. You cannot talk like this." The farmer responded, "Why shouldn't we speak? You are the minister and you should call us and speak to us," Basavaraju added.
The exchange took place at the Jaladarshini campus in Mysuru after BC Patil's comments about farmer suicides on Tuesday. He said that farmer suicides are not connected to government policies and also claimed that farmers who commit suicide are cowards. He described a momentary weakness as the reason for suicides and suggested that "when we have fallen in the water, we have to swim and win".
He also added that among other initiatives, the one district one product (ODOP) scheme adopted by Karnataka to highlight one local product in each district will help farmers market their produce.
However, his comments attracted criticism from farmers with Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha's Hoskote representative Basavarju leading a group of farmers to confront BC Patil.
Even though Patil tried to defuse the tension by speaking to the farmers, tempers flared with Basavaraju pointing out that ministers have not come to meet and speak to farmers who are protesting in New Delhi for nearly two months.