Farmers protesting for media attention: Agriculture Minister

Patna: Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh on Saturday said some farmers have been staging protests just for the sake of media attention.

Talking to media persons here, Singh said: "There are crores of farmers in the country but only a few farmers have been staging protest. It has no relevance at all."

Singh's remarks came in response to a query on the going protests by thousands of farmers in Madhya Pradesh and elsewhere over low support price for their products, among others.

The 10-day protests that started on June 1 coincide with the farmers' agitation in Mandsaur of Madhya Pradesh last year, when seven farmers had died in a police firing on June 6.

Farmers in the agrarian states of Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra and Rajasthan on Friday joined the 10-day protest call given by various farmer organisations.

Singh reportedly surprised one and all when he said that farmers were committing suicide just for media coverage.

He further claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Madhya Pradesh was pro-farmer and had been doing a lot in the interest of farmers.