NAGPUR, 7 December 2005 — An opposition Shiv Sena legislator yesterday attempted to commit suicide in the Maharashtra State Assembly here, protesting government apathy toward suicides by debt-ridden farmers in the state.
In a dramatic incident, Shiv Sena legislator from Vidarbha’s Akot, Gulabrao Gawande, had the legislators in a state of shock when he moved to the well of the house, doused himself with kerosene and attempted to consume poison even as the assembly session was on.
Gawande was protesting the Democratic Front government’s “apathy” toward the large number of suicides by farmers in the region.
The incident happened in the house when the leader of the opposition, Ramdas Kadam, was demanding suspension of question hour to take up the farmers issue.
Gawande was overpowered by members of both benches and the bottles were snatched. The shocked members, cutting across party lines, tried to pacify Gawande, who was later taken out of the house. Speaker Babasaheb Kupekar adjourned the house first for 10 minutes and, when it reassembled, adjourned it till the duration of question hour.
According to government figures as many as 142 farmers have ended their lives till now this year, 524 in 2004, 180 in 2003, 131 in 2002 and 64 in 2001, most of them driven to the extreme step by heavy debt.
Most cases were reported from the underdeveloped Vidarbha region in east Maharashtra.
Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh admitted last month that 92 percent of the farmers had committed suicide due to their inability to repay huge loans.
