Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday trained guns on the Narendra Modi government, charging that the country’s farmers were being led to a suicide by an administration that is only interested in stealing their land.
Shortly before Kejriwal rose to address the farmers’ rally in New Delhi, a farmer identified as Gajendra hanged himself from a tree near the podium. He was declared brought dead to the hospital.
Despite the shocking incident, Kejriwal continued with the rally.
He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of running a government for the "super rich" and slammed his government for the "inordinate urgency" for bringing the Land Acquisition Ordinance hurting the farmers.
He alleged that the central government has "betrayed" the trust of the farmers on whose votes the BJP came to power.
"The farmers had reposed trust in Narendra Modi and voted him to power. Now they have lost their trust (in the government) within a year. They are coming out in thousands protesting against the land bill," he said, addressing a modest gathering.
"Narendra Modi government is anti-farmer. It is a government of the super rich. The bill has been brought to favour the super rich who move 24 hours around Modi," Kejriwal alleged.
He sought to know what the urgency was behind bringing the Ordinance, which is an emergency power.
"The whole country wants to know why was it brought -- was there a project that was stalled? If there was no such thing, then what was the hurry," the chief minister asked.
Kejriwal said he will at least ensure that no land is acquired in Delhi without the consent of farmers.
The Delhi Chief Minister said his government has provided Rs 50,000 per hectare to farmers for damaged crops due to the recent unseasonal rain.
Referring to the Swaminathan Committee report, Kejriwal said he has already asked the chief secretary to check whether the recommendations can be implemented in the national capital.
"We need to ask why farmers are selling their land or committing suicide? They are doing it out of compulsion because they are not getting full price for their produced," he said.
The chief minister also lashed out at the Rajasthan government and Delhi Police over the farmer's suicide at the rally, holding them responsible for his fate.
"If Rajasthan government had provided adequate compensation, he would not have taken the extreme step. We kept asking the police to bring him down. Police may not be in our control but at least there should be a semblance of humanity among them," Kejriwal said.
The rally was further marred by protest by a group of guest teachers in the Delhi government.
The Delhi Chief Minister said he will write to his counterparts in other states, urging them to make public statements if they disagree with the contents of the bill.
The party also threatened to widen its stir against the Centre if it goes ahead with the contentious land bill.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, senior AAP leaders Sanjay Singh, Ashutosh, Kumar Vishwas, Ashish Khetan also spoke at the rally and said the party will fight against the "deadly Act" tooth and nail.
The party said farmers from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Punjab, Haryana, Odisha, Bundelkhand and Poorvanchal belts of Uttar Pradesh participated in the rally.
Photographs Courtesy: Aam Aadmi Party/Facebook & Twitter