As political parties attempt to reach out to distressed farmers in the wake of crop failure and a procurement crisis across the country, a minister has made an insensitive statement on the increasing number of farmers committing suicide.

Haryana Agriculture Minister Om Prakash Dhankar called farmers committing suicide "cowards" at a press conference yesterday. Dhankar also made it clear that the Haryana government would not help families of those farmers and agricultural labourers who have committed suicide because the administration is not for cowards.

He said farmers who commit suicide run away from responsibility.

Rahul Gandhi is expected to speak in the Lok Sabha today on the farmers issue.

According to the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at New York University, on an average, one farmer commits suicide every 30 minutes in India.