Farmer who took part in 'Chai pe Charcha' kills self

A farmer from Vidarbha region who had attended the ‘Chai Pe Charcha’ programme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had committed suicide, said senior NCP leader Jayant Patil here on Wednesday.

In the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Modi had addressed a series of ‘Chai pe Charcha’ programmes which received tremendous response.

“Farmers who had participated in ‘Chai pe Charcha’ with Modi, are committing suicides,”  Patil, NCP group leader in Maharashtra Legislative  Assembly, told reporters in the Vidhan Bhavan complex, while referring to the suicide committed by Vithal Rathod (45), who hailed from Dabhadi village in Yavatmal. He had committed suicide on February 24.

“On March 20 last year, Modi held a ‘Chai pe Charcha’ at Dabhadi village in Yavatmal district of Vidarbha. He assured farmers that if they elect him, he will solve all their problems. It’s nine months since he (Modi) came to power. Farmers waited for a long time, but with no relief coming, Rathod committed suicide,” he said.

He said Rathod committed suicide “due to burden of loan”.

“It is the biggest failure in the country that the assurance given by its top leader cannot give confidence to farmers,” Patil said.