No record of farmers' deaths during protest; question doesn't arise for compensation, Govt tells Parliament

For months, farmer unions protested against the three farm laws (Representative image)

The Centre has "no” record of the deaths of farmers who were protesting against the three contentious laws that have been repealed now, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has told Parliament.

The minister said this in a written response to a  series of questions on farmers’ protest by a group of members.

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The fourth question in the series of six sought "data on the number of farmers who died during the agitation in and around the national capital". The next question asked whether the government proposed to provide any financial assistance to the kin of the farmers who died during the protest.

“The ministry has no record in the matter and hence the question (of compensation) does not arise,” the clubbed response by the minister to both the questions read.

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According to the Opposition and farmer leaders, as many as 700 farmers have died during the year-long protests along Delhi borders against the laws that were repealed on November 30, the first day of the ongoing winter session of Parliament.

The Opposition called it an ‘insult’ to farmers.

"If the government doesn't have a record of 700 people then how they had collected data of lakhs of people during the pandemic. Over 50 lakh people lost their lives due to COVID-19 in the last 2 years but according to the government, only 4 lakh people died due to the virus," Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge told news agency ANI.

This is farmers' insult. More than 700 farmers lost their lives during protests against 3 farm laws. How can Centre say that they don't have any record of it?: Leader of Opposition Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge pic.twitter.com/zs9bVGdbfP

— ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2021

Before the Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021, seeking withdrawal of the farm bills, was passed in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on November 24 approved the proposal.

The move came after PM Modi announced last week that the Centre has decided to repeal the three farm laws.