A farmer during a protest against the new farm laws at Singhu border in New Delhi on Sunday
- January 04, 2021
- Updated: 01:45 am
DW BUREAU / chandigarh
Three more farmers, who were part of the protests at the Delhi borders against the Centre's new farm laws, have died, police said on Sunday. One of the farmers died of cardiac arrest, another was suffering from fever while the cause of the death of the third farmer could only be ascertained after post-mortem, they added. The deceased were identified as Shamsher Singh (around 45 years of age), a resident of Lidhra village in Punjab's Sangrur district, Jashandeep Singh (18), a resident of Chauke village in Punjab's Bathinda district, and Jagbir Singh (60), a resident of Jind in Haryana, the police said. Shamsher was part of the protests at the Singhu border while Jagbir was participating in the agitation at the Tikri border.
Shamsher had complained of chest pain on Sunday morning, a police official said, adding that the cause of his death could only be established after post-mortem.Jagbir passed away at the Tikri border, an official of the Bahadurgarh police station said. He died of a heart attack, the police official said, adding that the body was handed over to his family after post-mortem. Jashandeep died on Saturday evening, the police said, adding that he had gone to support the agitating farmers at the Tikri border. Jashandeep was suffering from fever and was taken to the PGIMS, Rohtak, where he breathed his last. Farmers from different parts of the country, including Haryana and Punjab, have been camping at various border points of Delhi for more than a month now to demand a repeal of the three recent farm laws of the Centre.Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda urged the Centre to accept the farmers' demand. Talking to the media in Sonipat, he said the situation has become "worrisome" while pointing out that some of the protesting farmers have died in the last 24 hours. Hooda urged the government to scrap the farm laws without further delay.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday lambasted the BJP Punjab leadership over its sordid attempts to lower the prestige of the high gubernatorial office by pulling the Constitutional authority into unsavoury controversies in states where it is in the Opposition in what can only be construed as a bid to get rid of democratically elected governments there. Reacting sharply to BJP state unit's tweet accusing him of trying to make Punjab into another West Bengal, the Chief Minister said it was the power-hungry BJP which had been trying to use the office of the Governor for its own vested interests. "It has been happening in West Bengal, it happened in Maharashtra, and now they are trying to do the same in Punjab," said Captain Amarinder, slamming the BJP for its shameless efforts to force its way into power in states where they are currently not ruling. The BJP, which has been systemically trampling all democratic and Constitutional institutions, has not spared even the office of Governor, said the Chief Minister, adding that "these actions do not behoove a party that is the custodian of these institutions as the ruling party at the Centre." Captain Amarinder quipped that the BJP, despite being a national party, seemed totally ignorant about the Constitutional provisions, according to which the Governor was the titular head of the state but all administration authority vested with the chief minister. "Don't these BJP leaders know that the law and order responsibility of my state lies with me not only as chief minister but also as the home minister?," he asked, urging the BJP leaders of Punjab to first learn the ABCs of the Indian Constitution before shooting their mouth on Constitutional matters.
Describing as shocking the BJP's repeated attempts at politicisation of the farmers' agitation, the Chief Minister said the party was shamelessly exploiting the situation and spreading a carnage of lies for furthering its political interests. This, he said, was evident in their bid to project the farmers' genuine anger as a law and order situation in Punjab. Incidents of BJP leaders facing the wrath of farmers have been reported from the BJP-ruled Haryana, and even UP, he pointed out, adding that by the same yardstick those should also be construed as a case of collapse of law and order in those states. "And if the incidents of farmers venting their anger at BJP leaders in Punjab are at the behest of the ruling Congress here, as they are alleging, then by the same logic, the ruling BJP in Haryana and UP is to blame for the trouble there," he added.
(editor@dailyworld.in)