While Govt says they have no record of farmers’ deaths, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi holds up a list of 700 farmers’ names in the Lok Sabha.
During the previous Monsoon Session, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar had said the Center has no record of deceased farmers.
During the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, he brought up the issue of the farmers Rahul Gandhi said, “If the PM is apologizing and you are saying you don’t have the names, then here they are. I want them to be given compensation and jobs, which are their right.”
He insisted on compensation to the families of the farmers who died during the year-long protest against the three controversial farm laws. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Rahul said since the government doesn’t have data, he will provide a list of names of the deceased.
“The country knows that during the farmers’ movement, 700 farmers were martyred. The PM apologized to the farmers and accepted his mistake. The agriculture minister was asked about the number of farmers who were martyred during the movement and he had said he has no data,” Gandhi said during the Zero Hour.
Presenting a list in the House, Gandhi added, “We found out that the Punjab government has given a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to 400 farmers. Of these (kins of) 152 farmers have been given jobs. I have the list and will lay it on the table. We have a list of 70 farmers from Haryana as well. So, if the PM is apologizing and you are saying you don’t have the names, then here they are. I want them to be given compensation and jobs, which are their right.”
शहीद किसानों के परिजनों को मुआवजा और रोजगार मिलना चाहिए। आज @RahulGandhi जी ने संसद में शहीद किसानों के नाम देकर ये मांग उठाई।
किसानों को मुआवजा न देकर भाजपा सरकार ने अपना किसान विरोधी रवैया जाहिर कर दिया है। शहीद किसानों के परिजनों को मुआवजा और रोजगार देना होगा। pic.twitter.com/b1CgBF4EUd
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) December 7, 2021
He wrote a letter to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and also shared on Twitter, “I asked questions in Parliament on agrarian-injustice- 1. Will the martyr farmers get compensation? 2. Is the government considering MSP? 3. How did Covid affect agriculture? He asked the first two questions and gave the answer to the third – ‘Farming continued smoothly during the pandemic!’ What a joke!
कृषि-अन्याय पर मैंने संसद में सवाल किए-
1. क्या शहीद किसानों को मुआवज़ा मिलेगा?
2. क्या सरकार MSP पर विचार कर रही है?
3. कोविड से किसानी पर क्या असर पड़ा?पहले दो सवाल वे खा गए और तीसरे का ये जवाब दिया है- ‘महामारी में किसानी सुचारु रूप से चलती रही!’
क्या मज़ाक़ है!#Farmers pic.twitter.com/yXAYHtfgcb
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 7, 2021
Meanwhile, Samyukta Kisan Morcha, the body spearheading the protest, has tightened the figure above 670. A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the rollback of the farm laws, the farm body said, “So far, more than 670 protesters have sacrificed their lives in this movement. The Modi government has refused to acknowledge the high human cost. The martyrs also deserve homage to be paid to them in the Parliament session and a memorial to honor their sacrifice.”
Other political parties have also joined in, demanding compensation for the deceased farmers.