Farmer's suicide: Know who said what as political slugfest over Gajendra Singh's death continues

Dausa (Raj), Apr 23: Gajendra Singh, who committed suicide in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rally in Delhi on Wednesday, was cremated in his native village of Nangal Jhamarwada in Dausa district of Rajasthan, about 60 kilometres from capital Jaipur.

Gajendra Singh's death has escalated political slugfest and parties are trying to earn brownie points.

Here is who is saying what:

Farmer's family holds Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi Police responsible

After performing the last rites of his brother, Vijendra Singh told media persons that he holds the AAP convener responsible for Gajendra Singh's death.

"Mai khud, Kejriwal ji ko doshi manta hun iss maamle mai (I personally hold Mr Kejriwal guilty in this matter)," Vijendra Singh told ANI.

Gajender Singh's uncle Gopal Singh said, "Why did no one try to stop him from climbing the tree? Why did no leader of the Aam Aadmi Party try to dissuade him? There are lots of questions that remain to be answered. We hold police and the AAP leadership responsible for the death. If any of them had acted swiftly, he could have been saved."

Family raises questions over suicide note

Gopal Singh even raised questions about the suicide note, saying the handwriting does not seem to be that of Gajender Singh. "He was troubled and disturbed for the last couple of months but no one in the family could ever think or believe that he would commit suicide," he said.

Delhi Police accuses AAP of not cooperating

AAP leaders and workers did not cooperate in saving the farmer at their rally in Delhi on Wednesday, the Delhi Police have alleged in an FIR.

BS Bassi, Delhi Police Commissioner said, "As per our investigation his death is due to hanging (farmer suicide), post mortem report awaited which will be analyzed."

Home Minister Rajnath Singh endorses police's version

Home Minister informed Parliament, "Policemen at the spot alerted the control room and asked for a fire tender with a long ladder, so that this person could be brought down. The Delhi police tried to stop the crowd from provoking Gajendra. In such cases, people involved in such acts should be engaged in conversation and persuaded. But the people at the rally kept clapping, making noise."

Rajnath further added, "Gajendra Singh's suicide is very sad and unfortunate. I, on behalf of PM Modi and the entire nation and government, feel that it was a very sad incident. This issue should not be politicised."

PM Modi calls the incident unfortunate

Farmers' suicide has been age-old problem, is very widespread and a cause of concern. We have to look at it in that light. There is nothing more valuable than farmer's life, a human's life. I seek suggestions with an open mind. Let us not let our farmers die. We have to find a solution to farmers' problems. We will not betray interests of farmers. Clearly, all of us are together in this, said PM.

Accuses Home Minister Rajnath Singh of "lying"

AAP spokesperson Sanjay Singh said, "The Home Minister is lying and giving misleading statements. It is the Union government's ploy to target AAP using the Delhi Police... Media recorded the incident as it happened and should put out the tapes in public to establish the truth."

Congress holds both state, Centre responsible; calls for probe

After Rajnath Singh's statement, leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge asked, "Why didn't the Delhi Police act when Gajendra Singh was climbing the tree?

Kharge demanded judicial inquiry into the incident and told the government to announce an ex-gratia amount for the deceased's family. The government should also think of waiving off the farmers' loans.