Rahul Gandhi Shares List Of Deceased Farmers During Protest

Days after the Centre told Parliament it has no data on farmers who died during the year-long protests, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi last week came up with a list of over 400 deceased farmers and claimed their families have been compensated by the party-ruled Punjab government.

At a press conference in New Delhi on Friday, December 3, the senior Congress leader called the Centre "arrogant" for admitting the fact that they had no official record of the number of farmers who died during the protest.

"The Centre said that the Ministry of Agriculture has no record of these 700 martyred farmers. But we did some homework and as it turns out, there are 403 people who the Government of Punjab has compensated Rs 5 lakh (each) with... Why doesn't the Government of India have the decency to give the compensation to the families of the martyred"," he said.

He added that if the Centre not get the names of dead farmers it could refer to the Congress's list and provide the families with compensation. "The Prime Minister admitted his mistake and apologised to the nation. As a result of that "mistake", 700 people have died. The government should at least pay compensation for the sacrifices they (farmers) made," he added.

The minister also alleged that the Centre will do "anything for two-three big industrialists who are friends of the Prime Minister and the government". But when it comes to the farmers, they are simply denying and saying these 700 people do not exist, he added.

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