Bhopal: Upping the ante against the Madhya Pradesh government, the Congress on Wednesday demanded that the probe report of the Mandsaur police firing, in which five farmers were killed last year, be released on June 6, the first anniversary of the incident.
Taking to twitter, veteran Congress leader and the party’s state unit head Kamal Nath said that the tenure of Jain Commission that probed the incident has been extended four times. He said that even the fourth deadline ended on May 11 and 20 days have elapsed but the report hasn’t been made public.
“The state government should make it public on June 6 to ensure justice to the dead farmers,” said Nath, expressing apprehension that facts could be tampered with if it is delayed further.
His demand comes a day after Minister of State for Agriculture, Balkrishna Patidar, made a bizarre statement on the report. He said that the farmers who died in Mandsaur won’t spring back to life if the probe report is released.
The minister said that it’s a time taking process as facts have to be verified thoroughly. He likened the incident to a natural calamity and said no one was guilty for it.
Patidar, however, maintained that it was a tragic incident and the loss incurred to farmers’ families was irreparable.
On Wednesday, agriculture minister Gaurishankar Bisen said there would be no farmers’ stir in the state on the anniversary of the firing. According to Bisen, the mandis were open and there was no possibility of disruption in supplies from June 1.He said Congress and certain organisations were trying to fuel unrest.
Despite his claims, people have started stocking up on vegetables fearing a shortage of supply from next month. The farmers have planned to cease supplies to urban areas for ten days starting June 1.
At Indore, people lined up at Choithram mandi since early morning and bought vegetables that were selling at rates almost 50% more than usual as vendors cashed in on the panic buying.
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