Farmer suicide: BJP to hit streets today demanding Agri minister's resignation

Bhubaneswar: The BJP Krushak Morcha is going to organise a State-wide agitation today demanding resignation of Agriculture Minister Pradeep Maharathy for “misleading” the Assembly with his statement on the suicide of a farmer in Bargarh district.

State BJP president Basant Kumar Panda had informed that the party will demonstrate at all the District headquarters in the State demanding Maharathy's dismissal for giving false information on the suicidal death of Khainu Bagarti alias Hadu.

“The minister has misled the Assembly by reading out a wrong statement and should be sacked,” Panda had said.

On the other hand Maharathy has ordered a re-probe on the case. Talking to media persons yesterday, Maharathy said, "My statements were based on the report presented by the District Collector. How can I say from what source did the Collector get the report.”

Maharathy had landed into controversy for his statement in the Assembly on March 4. He had said the farmer had consumed poison after a quarrel with his wife and the cause of his death was not crop loss or debt burden.

The deceased farmer Hadu Bagarti’s wife Kalabati had rejected the minister’s statement and claimed she did not have any quarrel with her husband.

“No one had visited our home, we do not know of any government official visiting us, the minister is telling lies, I and my husband have never quarrelled,” was the reaction of Kalabati after hearing Maharathy's statement.

As he landed into the controversy for giving statements based on the joint-probe report of Tehsildar and Assistant Agriculture Officer, Maharathy has instructed the Bargarh district Collector Anjan Kumar Manik to personally probe the case and submit a report on it.