Rahul offers list of dead farmers to let govt compensate families

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday offered to give the government a list of dead farmers in their year-long protest at Delhi borders if it does not have the data as claimed in the Lok Sabha, insisting on the government compensate their families.

Flanked by Lok Sabha Opposition leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Rajya Sabha opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge, he said the Congress government in Punjab has identified 403 farmers of Punjab who had died and whose kin were given jobs and compensation by the state government.

He told a Press conference in Delhi the Punjab government compensated them with Rs5 lakh each and provided employment to 152. “We have names of 100 others from other states and the third list is in public knowledge that can be easily verified,” he said.

In a separate tweet, Rahul said: “Modi has (phone) numbers of only industrialists while we have names of ‘shahid’ (martyred) farmers and their number. If he has to really apologise, he should phone their families, listen to their pain and give them compensation. The Congress government in Punjab helped the families as humanity first.”

Rahul wondered why the government is still adamant because of which the farmers are still continuing the agitation even after the three farm laws were repealed. He slammed the government for claiming that the Agriculture Ministry has no record of those dead and hence no question of compensating them. He once again hit out at PM Modi alleging he would do anything for his 3-4 industrialists friends but won’t do anything for farmers, noting that he is not asking for crores of rupees from the government for farmers but some compensation to the kin of those who died

during the protest.

“PM himself has said that he has made a mistake, he has apologised to the nation. As a result of that mistake, 700 people have died. Now, you are lying about their names. Why don’t you have the decency to give them what is their due?” Rahul Gandhi asked.