Choto Monir, Member of Parliament from Tangail 2 constituency, has become the centre of discussion on social media after a video of him allegedly harvesting immature rice paddies in Tangail’s Gopalpur upazila on Monday afternoon went viral on social media.
According to local sources, Latif Miah and his son Sujon Miah, residents of Sundarpur area under ward 2 of Gopalpur municipality, had planted BRRI 28 rice on their 15-decimal plot of land.
Apprehending that a rise in the water level could damage the rice crop, Latif started harvesting the paddy alone on Monday.
Monir, the local MP, was passing by the plot in his car at the time. Seeing the farmer harvesting all by himself, he, along with some of the local leaders from his political party, helped him harvest some of the paddy.
A video of the incident went viral on social media websites, showing some people, including MP Choto Monir, harvesting immature paddy.
Gopalpur Awami League General Secretary Saiful Islam Talukder and several other local politicians also joined in the harvesting, as seen in the video.
Latif said the rice was mature but the stems were immature.
Upazila Agriculture Officer Shahidul Islam, however, said the paddy was 80%-90% mature and so was ready for harvesting.
“The parliamentarian joined in the harvest to inspire people so that they could harvest their own rice,” he added.
“Farmers are instructed to start harvesting as soon as 80% of the paddy becomes mature. They may seem immature when seen from above but it can be observed that they are indeed mature,” he stated.
Choto Monir said: “I harvested mature paddy. On social media, some people are saying that unripe paddy was harvested, which is totally baseless and only a rumour.”
“I joined the farmer in harvesting only to inspire people so that they also join the process,” he stated.
