Sharad Yadav criticized the government on Thursday in the Rajya Sabha over its handling of the agrarian crisis, saying never before have so many farmers committed suicide, adding that demonetization hit the agriculture industry.

The JD(U) MP  slammed the Centre for crimes against Dalits, giving the Una incident -- in which Dalits were thrashed -- and Rohit Vemula’s suicide as examples of caste discrimination.

Criticizing the government’s ‘Sabha Saath Sabka Vikaas’, he said, “Freedom is enjoyed only by the rich, it is not for poor or Adivasis. If are in government, do good things. Stop this drama over cows. “

He also equated the lynchings to “Talibani” atrocities and laments the fact that Jharkhand had become the hub of such incidents while taking pride that in JD(U)-RJD-ruled Bihar there was no such incident. “The climate of fear is making people  afraid of travelling in trains, buses,” he said.

Cattle is the ATM of the farmers. We call it cattle wealth (pashu dhan),” he said adding that because of the climate of lynchings the farmers are driven towards suicide.