Tamil Nadu farmers threaten to commit suicide, march nude if Centre fails to fulfil their demands

New Delhi: The Tamil Nadu farmers, who have resorted to increasingly desperate modes of protest for loan waiver and other demands, now say they plan to march nude and even attempt suicide. [caption id="" align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Tamil Nadu farmers had previously protested with skulls in New Delhi. Reuters[/caption] On Monday, they marched near Jantar Mantar clad in just loin cloths, demanding a Rs 40,000 crore drought relief package, insurance for their crops and the setting up of a Cauvery Management Board by the Centre. The Parliament Street Police detained around 25 farmers. Farmers leader P Ayyakkannu said, “They detained us without citing any reasons. No one has the right to stop people from protesting.” “Tomorrow we will take out a nude procession. If our demands are not met, we will even commit suicide by slitting our throats,” he threatened. A senior official from the Parliament Street Police Station said the farmers were detained after they started stripping on the protest street in Jantar Mantar where women were also demonstrating. On Sunday, the farmers, who have been protesting for nearly two months in their second round of agitations in the national capital, consumed human excreta to draw attention towards their issues. In their first round of protests earlier in 2017, they had shaved their heads and half their moustaches, held mice and snakes in their mouths, conducted mock funerals, flogged themselves and even carried skulls of other farmers who had committed suicide due to debt pressure.