File Photo: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah
With farmer suicides in Karnataka on the rise, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah met some of the debt-ridden families of those who had killed themselves on Sunday and offered financial help.
Among the families Mr Siddaramaiah visited was that of Rajendra, a sugarcane farmer in Mandya who killed himself last month, leaving behind a list of his debts.
The chief minister handed them a cheque of Rs 1 lakh and promised a job for the farmer's son Madhu.
Upset farmers had a list of their demands lined up for Mr Siddaramaiah, which he said he would discuss in the state Assembly.
With more than 100 farmer suicides reported in Karnataka since April this year, the Congress government in the state has come under fire from the Opposition who said the government and its leaders have not given confidence to the farmers.
The Janata Dal Secular (JDS) plans to move a no-confidence motion against the government on issues like farmer suicide and corruption among others on Monday.
Given the numbers in the state Assembly, where the Congress has a comfortable majority, the motion has little chance of succeeding.
"It is a chance to discuss the shortcomings of the government," JDS leader YSV Datta told NDTV.
The government claims to have distributed nearly Rs 9,900 crore of interest free credit to farmers over the last one year, but the opposition doesn't seem impressed.