Has the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal issued an apology after facing accusations from opposition parties out of guilt?
On Wednesday, 22nd April 2015, the Delhi state government AAP organized a rally against the land acquisition bill in the grounds of Jantan Mantar. Many farmers and supporters from across the nation visited the rally.
But something unexpected took place there. The rally became the death ground of 41-year old Gajendra Singh, a farmer from Rajasthan. He had put a towel around his neck and tied it to a tree branch. While many onlookers claim it looked like an accident, many believe it to be a suicide.
It’s a common practice among Indians to stand on a tree to get a better view of the stage and that’s what the farmer is believed to be doing. During the rally, he tried catching the attention of Arvind Kejriwal to say something but when he couldn’t, he tied the towel around. A police constable, who happened to be an eyewitness to the death, believes it to be an accident. He says, “It seemed like a show and maybe that is the reason why the crowd failed to realize that the man had died. Singh was on top of the tree shouting slogans. He was brushing his moustache and waving at people to grab attention. It was just a gimmick that went wrong”. But another eyewitness constable accused the AAP leaders of instigating the farmer to commit suicide.
The constable isn’t the only one blaming Arvind Kejriwal and his political group. Other political parties didn’t miss this golden chance to accuse their opposition and blame them for the death of Singh. BJP, the central government of India have aimed questions at Arvind Kejriwal such as asking him if he values politics more than life. They have accused Kejriwal of committing a mistake in continuing his speech even after the farmer died. Arvind Kejriwal is believed to have spoken for 20 minutes before winding up his speech by blaming the Police constables of not being of any help after the farmer’s death. Congress on the other hand targeted both the state and central government for the incident, holding the CM and Prime minister Narendra Modi responsible for the farmer’s death.
Post all the accusations; Arvind Kejriwal accepted his ‘mistake’ for continuing his speech even after the farmer’s suicide and apologises if he hurt anyone’s sentiments. Kejriwal has also said that he’s ready to take the entire blame if the focus can shift back to the plight of the farmers in the country.
There are many viewpoints as to why and how the farmer died. But everyone seems to be forgetting that a death isn’t a blame game.
