A farmer on protest at Jantar Mantar. Abhinav Saha
Ayyakannu, who is leading a protest by Tamil Nadu farmers at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar demanding loan waiver and crop insurance, among others, alleged on Monday that he has received anonymous “threatening phone calls”, which one of the protesting farmers apparently traced to a BJP worker in rural Tamil Nadu.
This comes on a day a protesting farmer, Subramani, 61, was admitted in RML Hospital after he allegedly tried to commit suicide. The farmers also claimed that they have been victims to rumours on wealth they ostensibly own, some of it spread allegedly by senior BJP leader H Raja. But Raja countered saying Ayyakannu was heard abusing a farmer over phone and that may have invited threats on him. “Why should I threaten him? No BJP workers will threaten him, or other farmers,” Raja said.
