New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said there was need to address problems being faced by farmers collectively.
Expressing deep regret over suicide committed by a Rajasthan farmer in New Delhi on Wednesday, Modi said all human lives were of utmost importance.
Gajendra Singh, a farmer from the Dausa district of Rajasthan, hanged himself in full public view at an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rally addressed by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Modi, in his brief speech made in the Lok Sabha following demands of the opposition, termed problems being faced by farmers as “old, deep-rooted and widespread and we have to seek solutions in that context.”
“There should be a collective resolve in this regard. We have an open mind to consider any suggestion that is made... We cannot let the farmers die,” Modi said while emphasising that farmers cannot be left to fend for themselves.
“Yesterday’s [Wednesday’s] incident has caused pain to the entire nation. Members here also expressed the pain. I share the pain,” Modi said, adding that there is need to ascertain the mistakes made and the extent of shortcomings that have existed before his government came to power as well as during the 11-month tenure of his government.
Earlier Federal Home Minister Rajnath Singh made a statement in the Lok Sabha echoing Delhi Police’s version of the suicide.
“Policemen at the spot alerted the control room and asked for a fire tender with a long ladder so that this person could be brought down. The Delhi Police tried to stop the crowd from provoking Gajendra. In such cases, people involved in such acts should be engaged in conversation and persuaded. But the people at the rally kept clapping, making noise,” Singh said in his statement.
Police in the FIR have said that AAP workers abetted the suicide and obstructed police from discharging its duty, based on investigations carried out by its crime branch that AAP workers stopped a fire brigade tender from entering the crime spot to rescue the victim.
The officers also accused the AAP supporters of preventing them from sending the victim to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in a police van. Singh was declared brought dead at the hospital as his body hanging by the tree fell on the ground when AAP workers untied the knot from his neck, aggravating his injuries.
The crime branch has asked various TV channels to hand over unedited footage of the suicide.
Various TV stations had deployed to cover the AAP rally, which was meant to protest the Land Acquisition Bill proposed by the Modi government.
The mystery has deepened with the deceased’s brother claiming the handwriting on the note found in Singh’s pocket was not his.
Police have already asked organisers of the AAP rally to join investigations after the victim’s brother claimed there was a political conspiracy behind his brother’s death and alleged that Singh had been in touch with the Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia.
“The home minister is conspiring against us,” said AAP leader Kumar Vishwas, while reacting to the home minister Rajnath Singh’s statement and police FIR.
AAP on Thursday announced compensation of Rs1 million (Dh58,007) to the family of the victim, which many feel could further encourage distressed farmers to commit suicide in political rallies.
BJP has already accused AAP of confusing the issue with an eye on politicising the issue. The farmer, BJP says, committed suicide not to protest the Modi government’s Land Acquisition Bill but due to fallout of the recent unseasonal rain resulting into damage of crops.