Now Reading: Skip last rites of farmers who die by suicide, says Shinde Sena MLA
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Skip last rites of farmers who die by suicide, says Shinde Sena MLA
The Story in Brief
Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) MLA Sanjay Gaikwad on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, said people should not attend funerals of farmers who die by suicide so that their souls find no peace, with animal scavenging teaching a lesson. “It is only when animals eat their bodies that they will learn a lesson and stop taking their own lives,” Gaikwad told media in Buldhana. He urged distressed farmers to write to MPs, MLAs or the government rather than die by suicide.
Hindustan Times reported that farmer suicides in Maharashtra have hit 13,128 between January 2022 and June 2026, averaging eight deaths daily, with nearly 295 eligible families still awaiting Rs 1 lakh ex-gratia. Gaikwad’s past remarks include threatening to shove Covid down Devendra Fadnavis’ throat (2021), offering cash to slash Rahul Gandhi’s tongue (2024), and punching a canteen employee (July 2025). Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Nirupam said leaders must be sensitive during the drought. Farmer leader Raju Shetti demanded Eknath Shinde apologise.
Indian Opinion Analysis
India Today’s and Hindustan Times’ coverage of the Gaikwad remarks is uniform except for the context each provides. Both quote Gaikwad’s suggestion that people skip funerals so that an animal eating the body teaches farmers a lesson. Hindustan Times adds the drought backdrop and RTI data showing 13,128 farmer suicides in Maharashtra over 54 months and the ex-gratia payment backlog, context that India Today omits. Hindustan Times also catalogs Gaikwad’s past controversies, from threatening Rahul Gandhi in 2024 to punching a canteen employee in July 2025, while India Today mentions only that he has drawn criticism before. The balanced reading is that the core quote is identical, the additional context in Hindustan Times frames the remark as more egregious given the scale of the crisis and the MLA’s record, while India Today’s sparser treatment gives it less weight. Both leave open whether Shinde will act publicly against Gaikwad after past rebukes.
Coverage: 2 sources, 1 government-critical, 1 neutral
Sources (2): indiatoday.in (neutral report), hindustantimes.com (government critical)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
