Bhubaneswar, April 23: Agriculture minister Pradeep Maharathy today sparked off a fresh controversy, accusing the Opposition of manufacturing stories of farmer suicides.

"These allegations surface only when the Assembly is in session. Now, no one is talking about it," he told a news channel. Describing the farmers of Odisha as self-respecting, he said they did not resort to such extreme measures even during the 1866 famine that affected millions or when the Daleighai embankment on the Devi river in Jagatsinghpur district was breached. "Remember, they are farmers of Odisha. They have a great self-esteem, they don't commit suicide," said Maharathy, who had found himself at the centre of a controversy during the last session of the Assembly by attributing the suicide of Bargarh farmer Hadu Bagarti to domestic quarrel instead of crop loss as was alleged by the farmer's family.

Maharathy had told the Assembly that Hadu committed suicide following a quarrel with his wife, thus rejecting the claims of the Opposition and Bagarti's family that the farmer had been forced to take the extreme step because of crop loss.

However, when Bagarti's wife Kala lambasted the minister, accusing him of making a "false" statement, an embarrassed Maharathy ordered his department's principal secretary to get the incident probed into again. "I have asked the department's secretary for a fresh probe into the death of Hadu Bagarti. The secretary will ask the Bargarh collector for a fresh probe and a report," he had said.

Opposition leaders reacted angrily to the minister's latest statement. "He has insulted the state's farming community. Several farmers have committed suicide in the state. The government should take steps to alleviate their miseries," said BJP spokesperson Golak Prasad Mohapatra.Congress leader and Opposition chief whip in the Assembly Tara Prasad Bahinipati also hit out at the minister, saying that farmers were committing suicide in Odisha like in other states.

"The government is responsible for the plight of farmers. The minister's statement is unfortunate," said Bahinipati. Leader of the Opposition Narasingha Mishra even sought to question the minister's premise that self-respecting people did not commit suicide. "Who told him that? Farmers have committed suicide at different times," said Mishra. BJP leader Pruthviraj Harichandan described the BJD government as anti-people and said the minister's statement was aimed at diverting attention from the real problems facing the state.

Cholera detected

A few cases of cholera have been detected in diarrhoea-hit Jagannath Prasad of Ganjam district.

Additional district medical officer, public health, Jagadish Patnaik said at least two out of the 10 samples tested at the microbiology department of MKCG Medical College and Hospital here were tested positive for cholera. "We have alerted the medical officers in the community health centre at Jagannath Prasad and asked the health workers to create awareness among people to maintain personal hygiene and use boiled water," he said.

Additional reporting by PTI