Rahul Gandhi flays govt over no record of farmers deaths during stir

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 3

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday called the government “inhuman, insensitive and arrogant” for stating in Parliament that it had no record of farmers who died during the yearlong agitation against the recently repealed agricultural reform legislations and sought immediate compensation for the families of 700 deceased.

Noting that the details of deceased farmers were in public domain and could be accessed by the PM, Rahul said the Punjab Government had provided Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of 403 deceased farmers and assured jobs to the family members of 152 with plans to expand the job coverage for the rest.

“It is not our mistake that caused the death of 700 farmers. It is the PM’s mistake. Why doesn’t the PM have the decency and dignity to help the affected families?” Rahul asked in a press conference adding that he would place the details of 700 deceased farmers on the table of the LS on Monday. He questioned the government for treating deceased farmers as non-existent and said, “This is not the way a PM should behave. This is an unpleasant, immoral and cowardly way to behave.”

He expressed surprise that the government didn’t want to accept people who have died. “You did the same during Covid. You didn’t report deaths as Covid deaths. In Gujarat you said some 10,000 persons died of Covid. We sent our workers to every home and found there were lakhs who died,” said Rahul.

He said the arrogance of power was keeping the government from heeding to the suffering families of farmers.