'Cowardly' suicidal farmers, 'respectable' men who kill for honour: The strange ideas of BJP's Dhankar

Haryana Agriculture Minister and BJP leader Om Prakash Dhankar’s statement that the farmers who commit suicide are cowards and hence are not worthy of government aid raged a storm in the political circles on Monday. Soon he held a press conference where he stood by his statement and further claimed that people in Haryana don’t commit suicide and that some people n the country are trying to create a “pro-murder atmosphere”. [caption id=“attachment_2218564” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Haryana Agriculture Minister OP Dhankar. Image Courtesy: Twitter/ANI[/caption] His comments come despite the fact that  3000 farmers in India have committed suicide in the last three years due to unpredictable weather, ruined crops and rising debt. He also said that the kind of ’naatak’ on Gajendra Singh’s death in Delhi should not happen. Ironically, Dhankar, who had earlier headed the BJP’s Kisan Cell, had in the past criticised the previous UPA government for not doing enough for farmers, saying this had resulted in an increase in number of suicides. But it seems like it was just another day at the office for Dhankar who has previously made outrageous remarks on varying topics on a fairly regular basis. In 2014, Dhankar promised all the bachelors in Haryana brides from Bihar if his party won the election. Apparently, the sex ratio in Haryana is the lowest in India, 879 females per 1000 males, according to the 2011 census, reports Daily Bhaskar . The comment attracted heavy criticism in Bihar assembly and a case was also filed on charges of insulting the modesty of women. But Dhankar stood by his remarks saying, “I have raised a social issue. Despite the media having misquoted me on the statement I made in Narwana three days ago, I am thankful that this burning issue has been noticed nationwide… I have made the statement with the intention of the state’s youth getting married to girls from Bihar in a proper manner to establish a healthy atmosphere between the two states,” reports the Mail Online India. In 2013, Dharkar, then leader of the Sarva Khap Panchayat, promptly defended honour killings saying that those who kill for honour are good people. “The honour killings are carried out by law abiding, educated and respectable people, who fear the society and always try to guard their reputation. They always care about their esteem and public image and do not want any harm to their public standing,” he told The Daily Telegraph. He also claimed that those who marry within their sub-caste risked having deformed children. Further, he added, “Our suggestions to women not to use mobile phones, [wear]tight clothing or mingle with the opposite sex is based on ground realities. We are not anti-women and have no intention to curb their freedom but we have seen girls and boys taking to each other at odd times and fixing dates on mobiles, which in many cases have led to rapes. We believe that individuals from opposite genders should not mingle too much, if they do, its like sprinkling petrol on fire.” The Wall Street Journal  also reports him saying that daughters who fear their male relatives are never targeted in honour killings. Dhankar has also on numerous occasions pointed out at the issues of farmer suicide on his Twitter account in 2011 and 2012, years when he was elected the BJP Kisan Morcha President and Congress was in power in Haryana.