The shocking suicide in full public view by Gajendra Singh Kalyan, during the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rally in the Capital evoked sharp reactions from political leaders, even as Home Minister Rajnath Singh ordered a probe and Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the tragedy. The Prime Minister tweeted that he was “deeply shattered” and “disappointed” over the suicide and told the farming community not to consider themselves alone. “Gajendra’s death has saddened the nation. We are deeply shattered and disappointed. Condolences to his family,” he said in his tweet.
Rajnath Singh directed Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi to probe the incident. “I am deeply pained to hear the news of a farmer’s suicide at Jantar Mantar. I have instructed the Delhi Police Commissioner to institute an enquiry,” the Home Minister said. Singh also called upon Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, as the victim hailed from Rajasthan, and Delhi l-G Najeeb Jung and discussed the tragedy with them.
At the same time, the Congress held both AAP and BJP responsible for Kalyan’s death and demanded a FIR against the Prime Minister and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The left parties described it as a sad incident and said the Government should think about it. AICC spokesman Satyavrat Chaturvedi said that a case of abetment to suicide should be lodged against Modi and Kejriwal.
“The two persons who can be held most responsible for the suicide are Prime Minister Modi and Delhi Chief Minister,” Chaturvedi said at the AICC briefing here. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was guarded in his reaction saying he did not wish to make any statements in “this hour of grief.” However, after visiting the lady Hardinge Hospital to enquire about the case, he assured the farmers that his party would stand strongly behind them and not allow anyone to take away their land. He also asked Youth Congress workers to help transport Kalyan’s body to his hometown.
Chaturvedi drew a volley of questions from mediapersons who sought to know the justification for his demand and asked whether former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar can also be held accountable for suicide of farmers in the country when they were at the helm of affairs. “The suicide happened in presence of the Chief Minister and (personnel of) Delhi Police, which is under the control of the Central Government... The Prime Minister did nothing to prevent it. Then who else is responsible for itIJ” he asked.
To repeated questions as to how can the Prime Minister be held responsible for the suicide and how logical it is to demand registration of an FIR against him, the Congress leader argued that he was responsible for “creating a situation that led the farmer to commit suicide. Who else (is) responsible for itIJ He should be held responsible legally as well.”
Chaturvedi said the conduct of the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister and AAP was shameful. “A person hangs himself to death and you are engaged in delivering speeches, doing politics. How can somebody be so insensitive,” he said. The AAP however, cried “sabotage” and accused the police of being “mute spectators” to the tragedy and blamed the Delhi Police, which functions under the Centre, for it.
Describing the incident as “sad”, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury said it was a sign of how deep the agrarian crisis in the country was and how unhappy the farmers were, and advised the Government to think about it. “The incident shows the extreme distress faced by farmers. The Modi Government should defer the land Acquisition Bill and concentrate on addressing the immediate problems of farmers whose crops have been destroyed by unseasonal rains,” CPI leader D Raja said.