The Samyukta Kisan Morcha on Wednesday alleged that the Union government is “solely responsible” for the death of a 21-year-old protestor during the police action against farmers.
The deceased, identified as Shubhkaran Singh from Bathinda district, was killed due to an injury to his head sustained during firing by the Haryana Police. Singh’s family and farmer groups alleged he was shot, refusing to collect his body until government action is taken.
Singh, a small landowner, supported his family, including his mentally ill father, according to Hindustan Times.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha has called a meeting of its National Coordination Committee and the General Body on 22 February to discuss the situation and take “decisive action to advance the struggle”.
Jagtar Singh Bajwa, a spokesperson of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, told The Times of India that this was a “brutal attack on the very livelihoods of farmer families who are peacefully protesting for the fulfillment of written promises by the prime minister”.
“The government’s failure to implement the December 2021 agreement is solely responsible for the current crisis,” he said.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday also expressed grief over Shubhkaran Singh’s death and assured that legal action will be taken in the matter. Officials or individuals responsible for Shubhkaran Singh’s death will face severe action, Mann said.
Congress former chief Rahul Gandhi also expressed his condolences to Shubhkaran Singh’s family and blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ignoring farmers’ demands.
“Last time Modi’s arrogance was satisfied only after the sacrifice of more than 700 farmers, now it has again become the enemy of their lives,” Gandhi wrote on X. “One day history will definitely demand an account of the ‘killing of farmers’ from the BJP hiding behind the friendly media.”
Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday blamed Mann for allowing the Haryana Police to use excessive force against the protestors from Punjab.
“The police of another state are allowed to assault and kill Punjabis on Punjab soil, with Bhagwant Mann collaborating with Haryana against Punjab farmers,” Badal wrote on X. “Peaceful protest being met with bullets unheard of in a democracy. The innocent blood of Shubhkaran Singh is on Bhagwant Mann’s hands.”
