No record of farmers who died during protest, no question of aid: Govt in Parliament

“The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare has no record in the matter and hence the question does not arise,”: Government in Parliament to the question on whether it proposes to provide financial assistance to the kin of farmers who died during the agitation’

— ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2021

During the previous Monsoon Session as well, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar had stated that the Centre has no record of farmers’ deaths. However, the Punjab government data accessed by The Indian Express showed that till July 20, details of 220 such farmers/farm labourers who died in the agitation have been verified. Out of these 220, 203 (92%) farmers/farm labourers deceased were from Malwa region of the state, while 11 (5%) deaths were from Majha and six (2.7%) from Doaba.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, the body spearheading the farmer protest, has put the figure to over 670 deaths. A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the rollback of the farm laws, the farmers’ body stated, “So far, more than 670 protesters have sacrificed their lives in this movement. The Modi government has refused to acknowledge the high human cost. The martyrs also deserve homage to be paid to them in the Parliament session, and a memorial erected in their name.”

Meanwhile, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi has claimed that about 700 farmers had lost their lives in the protest. On the first day of the Winter Session of Parliament, the Congress leader had tweeted, “700 farmers were martyred in the farmers’ protest. Their martyrdom was not spoken about in Parliament today, nor was it respected by paying tribute.”

किसान आंदोलन में 700 किसान शहीद हुए, उनकी शहादत के बारे में आज संसद में एक लफ़्ज नहीं कहा गया, न श्रद्धांजलि देकर आदर किया गया।

अनगिनत किसानों के संघर्ष और शहादत ने हमें आज़ादी दिलाई जिससे हमें संविधान मिला।…1/2

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) November 29, 2021