Kolkata, Feb 19 (IANS) Holding the Mamata Banerjee government responsible for suicides by farmers in West Bengal, former chief minister and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said Sunday the state was steadily heading towards food scarcity.
"The government's apathy towards agriculture has lead to farmers committing suicide. They are now apprehensive of cultivating because they don't know if they will even get the minimum price," said Bhattacharya addressing a party rally here.
He said the inability of the state government to procure agriculture produce from the farmers was deterring them from farming which is pushing the state towards food scarcity.
"The rice productivity in the state has gone down. Even the potato farmers are wary of cultivating any more crop. This is gradually reducing our agricultural productivity and soon the state will face food scarcity," claimed Bhattacharjee.
He also took a dig at Banerjee for playing down farmer suicides in the state.
"She says there has been only one suicide. The others killed themselves for other reasons. She also says they took crores of money as loan. I want to ask which bank in the world gives crores as a loan to a farmer," he said.
The veteran Marxist also attacked the government for the rising crime chart in the state.
"Law and order has been steadily deteriorating. There is killing, looting, dacoity and now rape. There is so much crime because the perpetrators feel it is their own government."
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