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Upping its ante against the Centre’s “anti-farmers” agrarian policy and Land Acquisition Bill, the Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday will launch a rally on the issue. The rally will start from Jantar Mantar at around 12.30 pm, where Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will address his supporters, but he won’t be a part of the march towards the Parliament. Lashing out at the Centre, party leader Sanjay Singh on Monday had said the party will protest against the “deadly Act” for the farmers tooth and nail. The party had said farmers from Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, Punjab, Haryana, Odisha, the Bundelkhand and Poorvanchal belt of Uttar Pradesh will also participate in the rally to protest against the Bill. [caption id=“attachment_2206728” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. PTI[/caption] “The BJP says that they have made necessary changes in the Act. This is nothing but a joke. What compelled the BJP to change the provisions of the Act, just after nine months in power? This is nothing but a move to benefit its industrialist friends,” Singh had said. “The dark law which Modi government has brought about on land acquisition will not benefit farmers.” “Modi govt has issued a maut ka farmaan through this land bill,” Singh had said. “Our demand is that this dark land bill be repealed.” Taking a jibe at Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, Kumar Vishwas, who had contested against the Gandhi scion from Amethi, had said he should first explain how Robert Vadra benefitted from the alleged land scam in Haryana. “He has come back from a vacation and his entertainment tour. The leader has been talking about the welfare of the farmers,” Vishwas had said. “Congress is just pretending to care about farmers. They sent their yuvraj to make a speech on farmers’ issues after his two-month long vacation. This is because of frustration,” he had said. The AAP leader also lauded Arvind Kejriwal for announcing Rs 50,000 per hectare as aid for farmers. Delhi Police, however, had maintained that the rally will not be allowed to proceed toward the Parliament from Jantar Mantar as prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC remains imposed in the area. “Jantar Mantar is the designated spot for protests. Nobody will be allowed to move from there toward the Parliament,” said a senior Delhi Police officer. The land acquisition bill by the Narendra Modi government has faced a lot of attack by the Opposition. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had called the government ‘suit boot ki sarkar’ over the land bill issue in the Lok Sabha and had alleged that the government was only bothered about industrialists and did not care about farmers. The government, on the other hand, has maintained that the land bill was not anti-farmer and the Opposition was only attacking the bill because it had run out of issues over which it could oppose the government. Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu had alleged Congress is continuously trying to spread falsehood as truth and had asked party MPs to counter it aggressively. (With inputs from agencies)
Live: Kejriwal speaks to Gajendra Singh's family, AAP offers Rs 10 lakh compensation
Here is the live coverage of the AAP rally against the Modi government’s land acquisition bill at Jantar Mantar, Delhi.
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AAP chief Kejriwal speaks to family of Gajendra Singh
Party chief and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has reportedly spoken to the family of farmer Gajendra Singh who committed suicide in Delhi on Wednesday. It wasn’t yet made known what Kejriwal said to the family.
AAP has reportedly handed over a cheque of Rs 10 lakh to the family of Singh and its leader Sanjay Singh who visited the family’s house this evening assured them of a government job.
Shared our grief with Gajendra’s family: Sanjay Singh
Speaking to the media after meeting the family of Gajendra Singh, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said he shared the grief of the family and will put forth their requests to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.
“Since he died for farmers’ cause, we will talk to CM Kejriwal about granting him the status of ‘Kissan Shaheed’. We will also consider giving a member of their family a government job when they are eligible,” Sanjay Singh said.
AAP leader Sanjay Singh arrives at Gajendra’s house
AAP leader Sanjay Singh, along with a delegation of party leaders, is currently meeting with farmer Gajendra Singh’s family in Dausa. The party, including its chief and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal have been accused of being insensitive to Gajendra’s suicide.
The Delhi Police has accused the party of instigating the suicide by cheering Gajendra while he was climbing the tree. On Friday, party leader Ashutosh was seen crying on national television when he was speaking to Gajendra’s daughter who was visibly unimpressed.
Only judicial magistrate has jurisdiction over matter, Delhi Police tells DM over Gajendra Singh’s death
Even as the Delhi Police and the District Magistrate fought over the jurisdiction of the death of farmer Gajendra Singh, now the police have finally replied to the DM.
According to NDTV reports, the Delhi Police have told the DM, “Only judicial magistrate has jurisdiction over the matter.”
#AshuCries becomes the top trend on Twitter
If Ashutosh had taken two minutes out of the rally, Gajendra could’ve been saved: Farmer’s brother reacts to Ashutosh bursting into tears
Gajendra Singh’s brother Devendra reacted to AAP leader Ashutosh crying on live TV and said if Ashutosh had taken two minutes out of the rally, Gajendra Singh could have been saved.
“I want to ask Ashutoshji now that he is expressing his sentiments: Wasn’t he present in the rally that day?” Devendra said. “If he (Ashutosh) had taken out time of 2 minutes that day, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Gajendra did not write ‘suicide note’, says farmer’s family
Gajendra Singh’s family has now alleged that the deceased farmer did not write the ‘suicide note’ which was recovered from the farmer’s body because the handwriting on the note did not match the handwriting of Gajendra Singh, according to Times Now.
Delhi police not in a row with anyone else, says BS Bassi
Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi said that the police is an instrumentality of law and said that the police could not have a conflict with any other body striving to preserve law.
“We will do everything while following the law. Police is an instrumentality of law. Police has to assure that its actions are legal within the domain of law,” Bass said. “Since the police is an instrumentality of law, we cannot have a conflict with any other body preserving law,” he said.
“We will do whatever is required in the investigation. We will inform the media about developments in the case at approporiate times,” he said, adding that the probe will done according to an action plan.
As a weeping Ashutosh urged political leaders to stop indulging in dirty politics, BJP’s Sambit Patra said, “Don’t cry, Ashutosh. One should not get carried away by emotions. A politician should rise above his emotions.”
As Ashutosh was crying on live TV, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said, “I am very sad Ashutosh is crying.”
AAP’s Ashutosh breaks into tears on live TV while talking to Gajendra’s daughter
AAP leader Ashutosh broke into tears while talking to deceased farmer Gajendra Singh’s daughter Megha on a TV panel discussion which was shown on Headlines Today.
“I couldn’t save your father,” he said.
As Ashutosh wept, he urged BJP leaders, including PM Narendra Modi, Rajnath Singh and Sambit Patra, not to play politics over the issue. “We are being targetted by BJP and Congress,” he said.
Gajendra’s family demands CBI probe
Gajendra Singh’s family submitted a memorandum to the Rajasthan health minister, demanding a CBI probe into the farmer’s death at the AAP Kisan rally, according to CNN-IBN.
The family also alleged that Gajendra’s death was not a suicide. The Rajasthan state government promised to forward the memorandum to the Centre.
Why should Kejriwal quit? Did Modi resign after 2002, asks AAP
AAP leader Ashutosh took a dig at PM Narendra Modi and said Kejriwal shouldn’t resign because Modi did not resign after the 2002 Gujarat riots.
“Why should Kejriwal resign? Did Modi resign after 2002?” said the AAP leader.
“We are not here to do Chanakya politics. If the media wants the people to believe that AAP is responsible for the farmer’s suicide, what about the farmers who died in Maharashtra and other states?” Ashutosh said.
On the validity of the AAP Kisan rally, Ashutosh told CNN-IBN, “It was a valid rally. The police had not denied us permission to hold the rally.”
“But let’s shift the debate and talk about why farmers are committing suicide in the country,” he said.
Home Minister’s statement given by Delhi police shows there is larger conspiracy, says Ashutosh
“This whole incident should be investigated by an impartial authority,” said Ashutosh. On being asked whether he thought the probe by Delhi police would be impartial, he said, “We have serious doubts.”
“Police was insensitive at the rally in front of the media in spite of repeated requests to save the farmer,” Ashutosh said.
“Now, they are putting the blame on us. The Home Minister was making a statement given by the Delhi police. This shows there is a larger conspiracy,” he said.
“If the blame is going to be on the Delhi police, how can they conduct investigations?” said the AAP leader. “Let a three-member independent committee investigate the incident,” he said.
Maybe, we were wrong, but it’s harsh to judge our intentions: AAP
AAP leader Ashutosh admitted that maybe AAP was wrong in continuing with the rally after Gajendra Singh fell from the tree but also said that it was extremely harsh and wrong to doubt their intentions.
“In hindsight, maybe our judgment was wrong. Maybe we could’ve stopped the rally. But we thought we should keep the crowd distracted to avoid a stampede-like situation,” Ashutosh told CNN-IBN.
“We should have been more careful,” he said. “Everybody present there wanted him alive. Nobody wanted him to die.
“Maybe, we were wrong. But to doubt our intentions is pretty harsh. We are all humans. We all commit mistakes,” Ashutosh said.
Will not share probe details with the media, says Delhi police
In a news conference, the Public Relations Officer of the Delhi Police Rajan Bhagat said that the police will not share the details of their investigation into Gajendra Singh’s death with the media.
“The Delhi police is an honest and disciplined force,” Bhagat said. “The Delhi police always does its duty.”
“We feel that it would not be approporiate to share details of the investigation with the media,” Bhagat said. However, he added that the police would share a few details if they felt it could be shared with the media.
Kejriwal can’t make the farmer a showpiece of his office: BJP
BJP MP Prakash Javadekar slammed Arvind Kejriwal and said that he cannot make the farmer a spectacle and a showpiece of his office.
“You can’t make the farmer a spectacle, a showpiece of your office. You can’t make a theatrical of the suicide scene in your rally,” Javadekar said. “The CM has woken up late. The apology does not reduce the intensity of the crime. He should support the criminal investigation into the suicide,” he added.
“His party made allegations against the Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Now, all your (AAP) lies have been exposed,” he said. “Arvind Kejriwal should apologise to Rajnath Singh also.”
Farmer won’t come back by Kejriwal’s apology: Mayawati
BSP chief Mayawati reacted to Arvind Kejriwal’s apology and said that farmer Gajendra Singh won’t come back because of his apology. “I just want to say to Kejriwalji that by apologizing, the farmer (Gajendra) will not come back…If they would have wanted, they could have made Gajendra come down. There were many volunteers. Law should be strict in this,” she said.
Gajendra Singh’s father has once again blamed Arvind Kejriwal for the death of his son at an AAP rally on Wednesday.
“The fact that he has apologised shows he knows he is guilty”, he was quoted as saying by CNN-IBN. “His apology won’t change anything. My son is dead”.
Singh’s family had blamed Kejriwal for the death of Gajendra previously as well.
Gajendra Singh’s mother reacted to Arvind Kejriwal’s apology and said that his apology was not enough.
Congress demands judicial inquiry into incident
Congress has given a notice in the Lok Sabha, demanding a judicial inquiry into farmer Gajendra Singh’s suicide, according to Times Now.
Kejriwal shouldn’t politicise someone’s death, says Sheila Dikshit
Congress leader and former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit said she did not want to comment on what Arvind Kejriwal had said but added that he shouldn’t politicise the issue of Gajendra Singh’s suicide.
On the issue of AAP workers allegedly instigating the farmer to commit suicide, Sheila Dikshit said, “If what you’re saying is true, it is not right for a ruling party. You (Kejriwal) are running a government. At first, you used to keep holding dharnas. But politicising someone’s death like this is not right.”
“As a Chief Minister, his statement should be much more responsible and should meet with the challenges that come up due to a tragedy like this,” said Dikshit.
Arvind Kejriwal should stop behaving like a politician, says Gajendra Singh’s brother
Gajendra Singh’s brother Vijendra said Arvind Kejriwal should stop behaving like a politician. “I want to say to Kejriwalji that instead of behaving like a political person, he should behave on human terms,” he told ANI.
“Kejriwalji should explain every point and tell us that why and what happened in his rally,” he said.
If Kejriwal was sensitive enough, farmer’s suicide could’ve been avoided: Congress
Congress leader Shobha Oza reacted to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s apology and said that the incident could have been avoided if Kejirwal had been sensitive enough. “If the CM was sensitive enough, I am confident that farmer could have been saved,” she said.
Kejriwal’s politics based on allegations and blame games: BJP
Even after Arvind Kejriwal apologised for making a speech after Gajendra Singh’s body was brought down from the tree, BJP lashed out at the Delhi CM and said that his politics was based on ‘allegations, accuses and blame games’.
“It is ironical that Arvind Kejriwal is apologising. His politics is based on allegations, accuses and blame games,” said BJP’s Nalin Kohli.
Another BJP leader GVL Narasimha Rao said, “I hope AAP leaders will realise the manner in which they politicised the issue…I think today, after having seen the public outcry and media reaction over the issue, Kejriwal sounded reasonable.”
“I think the Delhi government will now stop getting into confrontation with the Delhi police,” Rao added.
Delhi police refuses to share documents with state govt, say reports
The Delhi police has refused to share documents related to the probe over Gajendra Singh’s suicide with the Delhi government, according to Times Now.
I should’ve called off the rally, I made a mistake: Kejriwal
“I made a mistake. I should have called off the rally,” said Kejriwal. “When we were on stage, because of the bushes surrounding the tree, what was going on wasn’t clearly visible. Some AAP volunteers came to us and said that something was wrong.
“We couldn’t announce that there was something wrong because then, the people would run to the tree. It would have caused great chaos,” Kejriwal said.
“I honestly believe that even the AAP volunteers didn’t think that he (Gajendra Singh) would jump,” said Kejriwal.
However, the Delhi CM also blamed the media for its portrayal of the issue. “Stop beating the issue to death. This is only being done to increase TRP,” he said. “ANI will not investigate this. The police will,” he told ANI.
He also said the person responsible for Gajendra Singh’s death should be hanged.
Arvind Kejriwal apologises for making a speech after Gajendra Singh’s body was brought down
Arvind Kejriwal apologised for making his speech after Gajendra Singh’s body was brought down from the tree.
“I have never experienced anything like this in my life. It pains me greatly,” Kejriwal said. “When his body was brought down, it was found out that he was alive and he was immediately taken to the hospital. When I started talking after that, I talked for a long time. I think this was a mistake. I apologise to anyone who hurt by the incident.”
However, Kejriwal also said that the politics and blame game that had been played over this incident for the past two or three days was wrong. “It’s right to play blame game. It’s not even right to blame the Delhi police.”
“What has been happening for the last few days is not right. Arrest whoever is responsible. But address the problem of why farmers are committing suicide. The naatak which has been going on is not right,” said Kejriwal.
Join probe by 11 am or face action: DM tells Delhi Police
The District Magistrate has warned the Delhi Police to join the probe into the suicide of farmer Gajendra Singh by 11 am on Friday else it would take criminal action against the force.
Delhi Police chief BS Bassi has maintained that they will not join the probe ordered by the AAP-led Delhi government after an FIR states that AAP leaders instigated Singh to commit suicide.
Not a poor farmer? Gajendra didn’t claim compensation from govt
Farmer Gajendra Singh who committed suicide on Wednesday reportedly owned 17 bighas of land in Rajasthan and never claimed any compensation from the state government. The village chief, however, says he did not claim compensation as the land was leased to him.
According to CNN-IBN, he also earned between Rs 500- Rs 10,000 just from tying turbans.
Police send suicide note for forensic tests
The Delhi Police investigating the suicide of farmer Gajendra Singh has sent his alleged suicide note to forensic experts to ascertain whether it was actually written by him or not.
Meanwhile, the police have refused to cooperate with the AAP government in Delhi after its FIR stated that AAP workers instigated the suicide.
Will not join Delhi govt’s probe, says BS Bassi
Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi has said that he will not co-operate with the ‘AAP magisterial probe’ into the suicide of farmer Gajendra Singh. “According to the rule of law, whatever is required we will do. But we cannot get into anything illegal,” Bassi said.
Officials investigating the case have said that AAP workers stopped police officials from sending the victim to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital while insisting that he was a party member and should not be taken in a police van which resulted in considerable delay.
BJP leaders in Varanasi are now staging a protesting against Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.
Clear case of abetment to suicide by AAP workers, claims FIR
According to reports, the FIR filed in the case of farmer Gajendra Singh’s suicide said that AAP workers and leaders were instigating the farmer climbing the tree to commit suicide while the Delhi police was trying to save the farmer and had called the fire brigade for help.
The FIR reportedly said that the case was a “clear case of abetment to suicide by AAP workers and leaders,” according to CNN-IBN. The channeld also reported that the Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi said that he will not co-operate with the ‘AAP magisterial probe’.
Gajendra’s letter was not a suicide note, says deceased farmer’s brother
Gajendra Singh’s brother Vijendra Singh said that the letter that was recovered from Gajendra Singh’s body was not a suicide note. “In the note, my brother had talked about how his row with his father. But did he ever mention the word ‘suicide’?” he said.
“I myself consider Kejriwal to be at fault,” he had said earlier.
Congress demands judicial inquiry into farmer’s suicide
Congress leader Ajay Maken, at a press conference, demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident. He also criticised AAP for being ‘insensitive’ while conducting the rally. “Had there been one ambulance and one fire tender during AAP’s rally, then the farmer could have been saved,” said Maken. “If we, being the opposition, can follow certain norms, why can’t they?”
All parties must collectively find solution to problem of farmer suicides, says Manmohan Singh
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a statement on the farmer’s suicide, said, “It is a great tragedy that so many farmers are committing suicide…All parties in the House and outside must put their wisdom, knowledge and experience to find credible a solution.”
Home Minister lied to the nation and Parliament, says AAP’s Kumar Vishwas
AAP leader Kumar Vishwas lashed out at Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s statement in the Lok Sabha that Delhi police tried saving the farmer whereas people at the rally were provoking the farmer. “The Home Minister is lying to the Parliament and the nation. He said that AAP leaders were trying to stop Delhi police from doing their work. Is this the Delhi police’s strategy under the Centre’s order to defame the AAP government?” said Kumar Vishwas.
“We were constantly appealing to the Delhi police to help the farmer,” said Vishwas. “You (media channels) have the footage. You can show the truth about what happened,” he said.
Delhi police not co-operating with the magisterial probe, says AAP
After saying that Gajendra’s sacrifice would not go in vain, AAP leader Kumar Vishwas said, “Yesterday, it was announced that Magisterial enquiry would be initiated in the case. Today, Delhi Police refused to work with them.”