A saint commits suicide at Singhu border ‘for farmer cause’

New Delhi: On a day the protesting farmer unions sensed a “moral victory” in the Supreme Court’s observations, Sant Baba Ram Singh, a revered figure from Karnal in Haryana, allegedly shot himself to death at Delhi’s Singhu border on Wednesday.

“My heart is in extreme pain. This is my voice towards zulm (torture) against farmers. Some have given up their awards for farmers’ cause, I am giving up my life,” says the purported suicide note left behind by him.

Congress’ Rahul Gandhi, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and SAD chief Sukhbir Badal expressed their anguish at the death. They said Centre should not be stubborn and repeal the farm laws.


Earlier in the day, the farmers made it clear that their agitation would continue till the three farm laws were withdrawn, even if a committee was formed by the Supreme Court.

Farmer groups also wrote to the central government rejecting its proposal to amend the three farm laws and asked it to stop defaming the movement. “The government should stop parallel talks with other farmer organisations,” farmer leader Darshan Pal wrote in an e-mail to the Centre, after some farmer organisations from various states met Union ministers over the last few days and extended their support to the new laws. The leaders have taken offence to central ministers, especially those involved in negotiations with them earlier, now trying to discredit the movement by alleging the involvement of Maoist elements in the ranks of farmers and trying to wedge a divide between them. “Young farmers have started an IT wing at Singhu border today to counter such propaganda,” Pal said.

Two farmer leaders who spoke to ET on condition of anonymity said they hoped that the SC would set up a time-bound mechanism for the committee. The All India Kisan Coordination Committee said the formation of the committee would be fruitful only after the laws were withdrawn and the representatives of all national and regional farmers’ organisations were represented in a decisive manner in the panel.

Yogendra Yadav, who is sitting on a protest on the Delhi-Jaipur highway, said farmer leaders had rejected the government’s proposal to set up a committee for negotiations on December 1. “The SC can and must decide on the constitutionality of the farm acts. But it is not for the judiciary to decide on the feasibility and desirability of these laws. That’s between farmers and their elected leaders. SC monitored negotiation would be a wrong path,” Yadav said.