Taking the ongoing farmers’ protest to a new turn, a Sikh priest shot himself in Karnal district of Haryana. Reportedly known as Sant Baba Ram Singh, the 65-year-old was working with people serving the protesting farmers and died on the spot on the 20th day of the protest.
Delhi cops said the supporters of Singh claimed it was a suicide but police is investigating the matter. Nanaksar Singhra Wale, as he was fondly called, said in his reported suicide not that he was pained by the plight of farmers.
According to an Indian Express report, the purported suicide note, written in Gurmukhi, said: “I saw the anguish of the farmers. They are suffering on the roads to get their rights. My heart was very pained at this. The government is not doing justice. This is injustice. Oppressing someone is a sin; tolerating oppression is also a sin. People have shown their solidarity with the farmers, and their anger against this injustice, in various ways. Some have returned their awards to express their anger. I am taking my life in support of the farmers, and against the atrocities of the government. This is a voice against injustice. This is a voice in support of the hard-working farmers.”
CJI SA Bobde has said in an order, “A protest is constitutional till it does not destroy property or endanger life. The Centre and farmers have to talk; we are thinking of an impartial and independent committee before whom both parties can give its side of story to resolve impasse on farm laws. The independent committee can have P Sainath, Bhartiya Kisan Union and others as members. You (farmers) cannot instigate violence and cannot block a city like this”
Meanwhile, Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu expressed hopes that a reasonable solution will be found on the issues raised by the agitating farmers since both the government and the farmers are willing to talk to each other. Speaking at the awards ceremony jointly organized by Rythu Nestham and Muppavarapu Foundation at the Swarna Bharat Trust in Muchintal in Hyderabad, the Vice President referred to the media reports on the demands of the agitating farmers and the response of the representatives of the central government and added that he saw possibility of a certain meeting ground.