New Delhi: Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday accused the Congress of instigating violence in the name of farmers’ agitation in Mandsaur of Madhya Pradesh where at least five persons have died in police firing.
Terming the violence as “very unfortunate”, Naidu said the government was monitoring the situation.
The minister accused the Congress of trying to gain political mileage out of the incident.
“Congress is trying to give it a political twist. I only want to tell them (Congress) not to politicise the issue and fuel and instigate violence in the name of farmers’ agitation, because it will boomerang on you,” Naidu said.
He said Madhya Pradesh had registered good growth in agriculture under the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government and the state was “an island of peace”.
Due to increased production, farmers might not be getting ideal price for their crops and were protesting and the state government was addressing their issues, said Naidu.
“Congress is trying to politicise farmers’ problems after they failed to counter Shivraj Singh Chouhan politically in the state,” he added.
Farmer leaders claimed that eight people had died in police firing on Tuesday. Hundreds of angry farmers on Wednesday blockaded roads and attacked two top officials at Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh.
Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh government has sought central forces to curb the incidents of violence during the ongoing farmers’ agitation.
State chief minister, Shivraj Chouhan has blamed the anti-social elements for the farmers agitation turning violent. “Anti-social elements have mingled into the crowd and they are solely responsible for the violence witnessed in the ongoing farmers’ agitation,” said Chouhan.