Bhopal: “Ghosts” have been driving farmers in Madhya Pradesh to commit suicide. Yes, you got it right. This is the official version of MP government.

State home minister Bhupendra Singh on Wednesday dropped a bombshell in the MP Assembly by making a startling statement that “bhoot, pret, upari saya” (apparitions), not crop loss, were the key reason for many farmers to take the extreme step in the state.

The minister refused to budge from his stand even as his statement triggered uproar in the House with Opposition Congress seeking a clarification from him if the Shivraj Singh government believed in superstition.

“In some rural pockets, a ritual prevails wherein people are freed of influence of spirits,” he clarified in defense of his stand. The minister was replying to a question by a Congress member on farmers’ suicides in the state. The copies of the minister’s reply were circulated to media persons by the Congress.