Accusing the Centre of being "insensitive" towards the plight of peasants, the CPI today demanded a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the kin of Gajendra Singh, a farmer who committed suicide during an AAP rally against the NDA government's Land Acquisition Bill here.
The party, expressing shock at Singh's death yesterday, asked the government to ensure maximum procurement of grain and agricultural produce damaged by untimely rain from across the country.
It also demanded scrapping of the Land Acquisition Ordinance re-promulgated on April 3.
"Crores of rupees worth crop, from Jammu and Kashmir to Karnataka, have been lost because of the untimely rains. More than three crore acres of land is estimated to have been badly affected.
"The Union government is insensitive to the problem of peasants and is only interested in serving the corporate houses," CPI General Secretary S Sudhakar Reddy said in a statement.
Reddy added that offering farmers higher minimum support price, raised to reasonable level, in view of the calamity is need of the hour.
"Loans of peasants, who lost the crop due to rains, should be waived immediately. The party also assures the peasants all support and to lead them in their fight for justice and compensation," he added.
Singh, a farmer from Rajasthan's Dausa district, had committed suicide during a rally called by AAP to protest the bill at Jantar Mantar yesterday. He was cremated today at his native place.
