Maharashtra MLA Sanjay Gaikwad says nobody should attend funerals of farmers who die by suicide

Buldhana: Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad has said that people should not attend the funerals of farmers who die by suicide, urging fellow farmers to support their families and not abandon them.

If nobody attended a farmer’s funeral and animals fed on the body, it might make others contemplating suicide realise the consequences and deter them from taking their own lives, the Buldhana MLA said.

Gaikwad made the potentially controversial comments at a press conference in Buldhana on Tuesday, when he was asked about a recent statement by a politician who apparently inadvertently used an expletive while talking about farmer suicides.

“If you (farmers) have a problem, write to the government, your MLA or your MP. Otherwise, let me know about your difficulties, and everyone will help you. But by taking your own life and leaving your children helpless, you are, in a way, punishing them,” he said.

“You take the seven sacred rounds with your wife, vow to stand by her for seven lifetimes and promise to look after your children. Yet, if you end your life halfway through, what happens to those promises?” he asked.

The Shiv Sena legislator said he had consistently maintained in his speeches that if someone died by suicide, no one should attend that person’s funeral.

“Only when people realise that their bodies may be eaten by animals and understand what happens to their remains will they stop dying by suicide,” Gaikwad said.

Gaikwad, who has been involved in controversies before, flaunted a tiger tooth worn around his neck in 2024 and claimed that he had hunted the big cat in 1987. Last year, he slapped a canteen staff member, allegedly for offering stale food at the MLA hostel in Mumbai.