Some authentic TV channels with credible sources, have revealed that 41-year-old Gajendra Singh, was active in politics and not a poor and helpless farmer, as reported in a section of media and political circle. Gajendra was associated with various political parties such as BJP, Congress and Samajwadi Party at different times. He even contested the 2003 Assembly Polls in Rajasthan on Samajwadi Party ticket, but lost the deposits.
His family members and friends hail him as a jovial, jolly and generous person. Nobody wants to believe that he could have committed suicide without any provocation. It is believed that he was in touch with some AAP leaders, including Manish Sisodia. We can’t verify the authenticity of the allegations. But, as the probe progresses, more skeletons will tumble.
NDTV, which always adopts an anti-BJP stand, was the first to report that “Farmer Who Hanged Himself Had Not Suffered Major Crop Loss”. Gajendra’s relatives say that his farm was not so badly damaged. It was just 33% loss or may be less. He was financially sound and he was not in dire needs. His father denied Gajendra’s claims that he was thrown out of home. Then, why Gajendra wrote this in his “speech note”, which was later projected as a suicide note? His sister has claimed that it was not his brother’s handwriting.
There is definitely more than that meet the eyes. Was it a suicide? Was it a stunt, which later turned out to be an accident and claimed his life? NDTV again reports that “He even called up his younger brother Vijendra Singh on his cellphone to say he was on TV”. “Gajendra had reportedly told an aunt who lives in Delhi, that he would come to her house after the rally to have dinner”. He told his aunt to switch on TV after 10 minutes and see him live.
So, it is now getting clear that Gajendra was not there in the AAP rally to commit suicide. He either wanted to draw attention or was provoked by some vested interests to stage the suicide drama. He climbed the tree in full public view, got all TV channels and people present there witness him, waited on the tree for over 30 minutes and then committed suicide. And, unfortunately, there was no attempt to save his life. Neither the AAP leaders, cadres nor policemen and even the media people did any efforts to end the logjam and save Gajendra Singh. His body was hanging from the tree, but the rally continued and Kumar Vishwas continued to speak.
Political battle over Gajendra Singh Rajput’s suicide, has intensified. The Congress, BJP and AAP are busy trying to outwit each other and gain maximum mileage. But, the real issue remains unanswered. Why the farmers in India still remain deprived and exploited. The Congress did not do any justice to the farmers in the last 60 years. The BJP failed to do any better in its seven-year-rule. The Janata Parivar parties failed miserably during their stint. Finally, the AAP made a mockery of their plight by allowing a farmer to die in its rally and then trying its best to derive political mileage. My condolences are with Gajendra Singh. My sympathies are with his family. But, I strongly feel that he was made to die and became a victim of political conspiracy. It was a murder, not suicide. And, the real culprits need to be brought to justice.
© Sagar Satapathy @ ONI