West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee expressed strong disapproval of the demise of a 24-year-old protesting farmer on the Khanauri border in Haryana, denouncing it as a case of 'egregious human rights violations'.
Taking to the social media platform X, the Trinamool Congress chief articulated her stance, stating, “Throughout history, landowners have perpetually oppressed the underprivileged, subjecting them to brute force. However, never before has a democratically elected government been implicated in the tragic loss of innocent lives amidst peaceful farmer protests.”
Furthermore, Banerjee accused the BJP government of engaging in deceit and mistreatment of farmers over the past decade, culminating in what she perceives as a dire situation wherein farmers are now being fatally victimized with impunity. She highlighted the troubling events unfolding at the Khanauri border as indicative of significant human rights abuses that pose a threat to the democratic fabric of the nation.
The condemnation from the West Bengal chief minister comes in the wake of the passing of Shubh Karan Singh, a farmer engaged in protests, who succumbed to injuries sustained during a clash with Haryana Police at the Khanauri border.
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal voiced his commitment to ensuring justice for the deceased farmer, emphasizing the solemn responsibility to uphold the principles for which the nation's freedom fighters had fought. Kejriwal's sentiments were echoed by his party colleague and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, who pledged to launch a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding the farmer's demise.
Attributing the youth's death to what he termed as the heavy-handedness of the Union and Haryana governments, Mann underscored his efforts to shield farmers and youth from facing adversities such as bullets, water cannons, and tear gas shells.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi joined the chorus of criticism against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, attributing the tragic loss of young farmer Shubh Karan Singh's life to what he perceives as Modi's hubris. Gandhi lamented the recurrent pattern of farmer sacrifices under Modi's leadership, denouncing the government's stance as adversarial to the well-being of farmers.
