LUCKNOW: Attacking the Uttar Pradesh government for turning sugarcane farmers into beggars, BJP Sultanpur MP Varun Gandhi said the state government was favouring sugar mill owners and not taking action against them for non-payment of farmers' dues.

Raising the issue of pending sugarcane arrears of farmers in Uttar Pradesh at nukkad sabhas in lakhimpur Kheri district, Varun said dues running into several crores were pending, and that no action has been taken against mill owners.

The BJP MP also met the kin of four Kheri farmers, who had reportedly committed suicide due to crop losses. He handed over relief cheques of rupees one lakh each from his salary to the widows of farmers in Bela Kalan, Lalpur, Oel and Dhakhwa villages. Varun also held brief meetings with farmers and listened to their grievances.

Denying politics behind his pro-farmers act, Gandhi said that he had "taken up the mission to aid and assist aggrieved farmers in UP as his social responsibility." He also said that to sense any "politics into this was not justified."

Raising the issue of sugarcane dues of farmers in his meetings, Gandhi said, "A farmer having loans of even Rs 50,000 has to face legal proceedings including confiscation of his properties, but sugarcane dues of farmers worth several crore rupees are pending with sugar mills in UP. Yet, mill authorities are not facing action."

Calling it the duty of all elected members to assist farmers, Gandhi said, "In Sultanpur, Meerut, Bijnor, Muzaffarnagar and in Kheri, I have helped the widows of deceased farmers by giving them monetary relief from my salaries," he said.