Agriculture Minister Tomar says no data of farmers death during protest, rules out financial aid

When questioned by the Opposition about the data of deaths who died during the protest and if the government is planning to give any financial aid to the affected families, the Minister replied in Lok Sabha, “Ministry of Agriculture has no record in the matter, and hence the question does not arise.”

New Delhi: The Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar in a written reply in Parliament today said that the government has “no record” of the deaths of the farmers who were protesting the three contentious laws – that have now been rolled back – over the last one year.

When questioned by the Opposition about the data of deaths who died during the protest and if the government is planning to give any financial aid to the affected families, the Minister replied in Lok Sabha, “Ministry of Agriculture has no record in the matter, and hence the question does not arise.”

Since the repeal of these laws, opposition has been demanding to provide financial relief to the families of more than 700 farmers who have died at the protesting sites, and now it appears that this statement is likely to trigger yet another political deadlock between the opposition and the Centre.

More than 700 farmers have lost their lives while protesting at different sites against the three farm laws which were rolled back on Monday in Parliament in one of the fastest repeals triggering opposition which alleges that the Centre does not want to allow any discussion.

Many opposition leaders including Congress’s Rahul Gandhi were amongst the leaders who attacked the Centre for not allowing a discussion. We wanted to discuss MSP (issue), we wanted to discuss the (UP) Lakhimpur Kheri incident, we wanted to discuss the 700 farmers who died in this agitation, and unfortunately that discussion has not been allowed," Gandhi said in his address to the media.

While the rollback has taken place in the Parliament on Monday, as sought by the protesters, farmers are now pressuring the Centre for assurance on the minimum support price for their produce.

The government has sought names of representatives from the protesting farmer unions for a panel proposed by the Prime Minister to hold talks.

Meanwhile, SKM leader Darshan Pal told PTI on Tuesday that “The Centre has asked for five names from SKM for the committee that will deliberate on the issue of minimum support price (MSP) for crops. We have not yet decided on the names. We will decide on this in our December 4 meeting.”

(With agency inputs)