Highlight
- Baba Ram Singh dedicated his life to the service of people: ML Khattar
- This is the first official reaction of Haryana, governed by the BJP, on the death
- The priest allegedly committed suicide last night on the Delhi border.
New Delhi:
One day after a Sikh priest who supported farmers’ protests died by suicide on the Delhi-Haryana border, ML Khattar, Haryana’s chief minister, expressed his grief, saying that Baba Ram Singh dedicated his life to serving people.
This is the first official reaction of Haryana, ruled by the BJP, on the death that has intensified the policy by the protests of the farmers, with the opposition saying that the “brutality of the central government has crossed all the limits”.
“I am saddened by the death of Baba Ram Singh. He spent his entire life serving people and lived only for others,” Khattar tweeted.
Baba Ram Singh, 65, a priest at a Gurdwara in Haryana, allegedly shot himself last night in a car on the Delhi-Sonipat border in Kundli, two kilometers from the epicenter of weeks-long farmer protests on the border. of Singhu.
In a note, he said he was sacrificing his life “to express anger and pain at the injustice of the government.”
“I feel the pain of the farmers who fight to guarantee their rights … I share their pain that the government is not doing them justice. Inflicting injustice is a sin, but it is also a sin to tolerate injustice. Some have returned their awards to the government. I have decided to sacrifice myself, “said the handwritten note.
His funeral will be held in Karnal on Friday, according to his followers.
Opposition leaders have been tweeting since last night, offering condolences and targeting the ruling BJP.
“Sant Baba Ram Singh from Karnal committed suicide over the condition of the farmers on the Kundli border. My condolences at this time of grief … many farmers have sacrificed their lives. The Modi government has crossed all boundaries of cruelty. Stop being inflexible. Remove laws against farmers, “Rahul Gandhi tweeted from Congress in Hindi.
“Distressed to hear that Sant Baba Ram Singh ji Nanaksar Singhra wale shot himself at the Singhu border in Kisan Dharna, watching the suffering of the farmers. Sant ji’s sacrifice will not be allowed to be in vain. I urge the Government from Indonesia to not allow the situation to deteriorate further and to repeal the 3 agricultural laws, “tweeted Akali Dal’s senior leader Sukhbir Badal, a former BJP ally.
“The news of Sant Baba Ram Singh Ji’s suicide is very painful. In this hour of pain, condolences to his family. Our farmers are demanding their rights. The government must listen to the voice of the farmers and repeal the three laws,” Delhi . Wrote Prime Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Since the end of November, tens of thousands of farmers have gathered on Delhi’s borders from Punjab and Haryana to protest against three laws passed in September. They believe the laws, which the center says are necessary for agricultural reforms, will deprive them of guaranteed minimum income and leave them exposed to exploitation by companies.
More than 20 of the protesters have been killed, farmers’ representatives say.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court told the government that negotiations so far have yielded nothing and are unlikely to do so. The court suggested a panel with government representatives and farmers for a solution before the protest went national.
“Your negotiation will fail again because they will not agree. Give us the names of the organizations (of farmers) that may be before us … This will soon become a national problem and will have to be resolved through negotiations,” said the president of the Supreme Court of India. Said SA Bobde.
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