Farmer suicides have come down, says CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told the Legislative Assembly on Monday that farmer suicides had reduced in Karnataka after the Congress came to power.

"Usually, there are around 1,200 farmer suicides per year. But this fiscal year (till February), there have been 644 suicides. Of this, eligible cases are 527. Not that we are happy with this. Ideally, no farmer should die by suicide. Let’s hope for that," he said.

However, Siddaramaiah’s claim was contested by Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka, who said there had been 2,329 farmer deaths by suicide according to an answer in the Rajya Sabha by the central government.