New Delhi: Blame game took driver’s seat soon after a farmer committed suicide during AAP’s rally at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Hitting out at AAP Chief Arvind Kejriwal, BJP alleged the entire episode was a controversy hatched by the Delhi Chief Minister.
Addressing a press conference, party spokesperson Sambit Patra said: “This is a conspiracy by Chief Minister of Delhi….Knowing very well that he was dead you continued with your politics for 74 minutes. I am no one to ask you questions but the people of the country and the world will ask. You will have to answer whether life was bigger or politics is greater, answer Kejriwal, answer.â€
Patra alleged that Kejirwal and the senior AAP leadership went on with giving speeches at the rally while they knew all along that the farmer was dead.
 “The doctor said that he was brought dead…you are the CM, you must be knowing that he was dead, but you said from the stage that you will go to hospital after you finish your speech,†he said, adding, “You knew very well that this man had climbed up the tree… that he will commit suicide and you knew very well that he has died (while you continued with your speech).â€
 “When death was on the prowl, you should not have done politics…you tried to score political brownie points,†he said.
While BJP blamed AAP for the suicide, Kejriwal accused the police of inaction and said it was an attempt to “sabotage” his party’s rally. He also taunted the media for not saving Singh.
AAP leader Kumar Vishwas too trained guns at the controversial Land Acquisition Bill and alleged that the farmer’s suicide had exposed the Central government.
“BJP and Congress did not understand the plight of the poor farmers. We will not let his sacrifice go in vain and continue our fight against Land Acquisition Bill. Government should be sensitive towards the farmers’ issue,” he said.
His party colleague Ashutosh made a ridiculous comment that AAP workers are not trained to climb trees and so they failed to save the farmer.
Congress leader Sachin Pilot said the suicide note claimed that the man was disowned by his father due to crop damage.
“Don’t want to politicise this, but sad that such an environment has been created in the nation, saddening. Suicide note states that he was from Rajasthan, has three children and was disowned by father due to crop damage,” he said.
“I heard that the rally continued and no one tried to stop or save him (farmer),” he added.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi too visited the hospital.
“We are with farmers…I am sad about this development. I don’t want to politicise this, but I had raised the issue of farmer suicides in Parliament… It is all because of crony capitalism,” Gandhi said, referring to the Modi Government’s land acquisition bill.
Communist leader Sitaram Yechury too linked farmer suicides to the government’s proposed land reforms, which aim at making it easier to acquire land for industrial and infrastructure projects.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Rajnath Singh directed a probe into the suicide. He spoke to Delhi Police Commissioner B S Basssi and asked him to investigate the suicide.
Kejriwal was leading a protest rally against the new Land Bill at Jantar Mantar when the incident took place.
As the rally was picking up momentum, a farmer from Rajasthan committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree during the event.
The man, identified as Gajender Singh Rajput from Rajasthan’s Dausa district, left a suicide note. He was rushed to hospital, where he was declared dead.
After trying to draw attention to himself, the man climbed the tree and threatened to hang himself, as AAP leaders and others climbed after him urging him to come down.
He was seen hanging precariously from the tree and hundreds of people gathered at the Jantar Mantar to protest against the Centre’s land acquisition bill, watched in shock and horror as the man fell.
Gajendra Singh left a suicide note in which he said he was unable to fend for his three children any more. He said that he had been thrown out of his home by his father after his crop failed.