Too close to home: Rajasthan farmer commits suicide at AAP's land bill rally in Delhi
New Delhi: A farmer from Rajasthan on Monday committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree in full public view in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at an Aam Aadmi Party rally even as appeals from those around to desist from taking the extreme step had fallen on deaf ears.
AAP leaders accused the police of being mute spectators and did nothing to save a precious life.
Gajendra Singh, a father of three from Dausa in Rajasthan, climbed a neem tree in Jantar Mantar, a stone's throw away from Parliament, the venue of anti-land bill rally, climbed a tree, put his 'gamcha' (towel) around his neck and also tied it to a branch.
Read: Rajnath Singh orders probe into farmer's suicide at AAP rally in presence of Kejriwal
In a bid to apparently draw attention to the plight of farmers who have suffered losses in the recent rains, he was seen raising slogans. AAP volunteers shouted and appealed to him to come down. A couple of them even climbed the tree and tried to bring him down by undoing the knot.
But before they could access him, Singh tied himself to a branch and his body could be seen hanging still. When the volunteers reached him and started untying the knot from the branch, it fell.
Read: Farmer suicide: Congress demands FIR against Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal
AAP leader Kumar Vishwas, who was addressing the rally had appealed him to come down and asked the police to rescue him. He was joined by another leader Sanjay Singh.
After volunteers rushed him to the nearby Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, the rally went ahead and the Chief Minister addressed the gathering. When he wound up his address, he said he was going to the hospital to meet Singh.
Read: All you need to know about the Land Bill
Gajendra Singh, a resident of Nangal Jhamarwada village in Dausa, left a suicide note written in Hindi stating that he has three children and had been disowned by his father after their crops were destroyed in last month's rains and hailstorm.
He also mentioned in the suicide note that he had nothing to look forward to in life. He ended the note with "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Rajasthan". The phone numbers of his family were also scribbled on the piece of paper.
Read: Farmer's death has saddened nation, says Narendra Modi
RML doctors tried to revive him but shortly later declared him "brought dead". Dr Sunil Saxena said, "The farmer was brought dead." AAP leaders alleged that it was an attempt to "sabotage" the rally and accused the police of being "mute spectators".
His body was later sent to Lady Hardinge Hospital for postmortem. Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi and ordered a probe into the incident.
AAP has joined the growing chorus against the land bill after Congress’ Rahul Gandhi made an impassioned speech in Parliament two days ago trashing the bill.
NDA has faced stiff opposition over the Land Acquisition Bill in Parliament’s Budget Session. The Opposition has accused the Narendra Modi government of trying to bulldoze the bill in Parliament.
Tribals in Jharkhand defecate on copies of proposed Land Bill. (Photo: Facebook)
The Prime Minister has also come under criticism for trying to take the ordinance route to get the bill passed after it faltered earlier in the House.
The NDA needs to get it passed in this session to avoid the ordinance from lapsing.
