Kolkata, Jan 17 (IANS) The Communist Party of India-Marxist Tuesday blamed the “anti-peasant neo-liberal polices” of the central and state governments for the spate of farmer suicides in India and said since the Mamata Banerjee government came last year 21 farmer suicides have been reported.

Quoting figures from the National Crime Records Bureau, CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat said at a rally that 2.56 lakh farmers took their own lives in the country between 1995 and 2010.

Lashing out at the policy of neo-liberalism followed by the central and various state governments, Karat said: “When the world has discarded such models, in our country it is being pursued. As a result, there is now a growing number of new billionaires. The gulf between the rich and the poor has widened.”

He said 86 percent of the workforce was in the unorganised sector, which is under the most ruthless attack of neo-liberal policies.

“Fifty percent of the workforce is into agriculture, and they are the most vulnerable, with rising fertiliser, power prices,” he said. Karat said in West Bengal, farmer suicides were not reported during the 34 year of Left Front rule. “Such mishaps are directly linked to policy. Farmers often get debt-ridden, do not get the proper price for their produce.

“Such things were there in our regime also. But then, the Left Front government used to tand behind the farmers solidly by providing subsides and taking out welfare schemes.”

“But now, in eight months of Trinamool Congress-congress government, 21 farmer suicides have been reported,” he said.

Turning to Kerala, Karat said before 2006, farmer suicides were common in Wayanad district. “But after the Left and Democratic Front came to power, they took the right pro-farmer policies. No suicide was reported till May 2011.”

“But after the United Democratic Front formed the government eight months back, seven suicides have been reported,” he added.