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Farmer Gajender Singh, who committed suicide during an AAP rally in Delhi, was cremated on Thursday in his native village in Rajasthan. His family members hit out at the party over his death, saying no leader tried to dissuade him.

“Why did no one try to stop him from climbing the tree? Why did no leader of the Aam Aadmi Party try to dissuade him? There are lots of questions that remain to be answered. We hold police and the AAP leadership responsible for the death. If any of them had acted swiftly, he could have been saved,” Gajender Singh’s uncle Gopal Singh said.

Farmers gather during cremation of Gajender Singh in Dausa district, Rajasthan on Thursday. (Source: PTI Photo)

Earlier in the day, Gajender Singh was cremated in his native village Nangal Jhamarwara in Dausa district. Teary-eyed people shouted slogans as his last rites were performed.

Gopal Singh even raised questions about the suicide note, saying the handwriting does not seem to be that of Gajender Singh.

“He was troubled and disturbed for the last couple of months but no one in the family could ever think or believe that he would commit suicide,” he said.

“We (the family) are presently passing through a lot of stress, strain and depression. We are really not in the right state of mind to think what we should do next.”

Suicide note of Gajender Singh

Senior political leaders across party lines queued up to offer condolences to Singh’s family as his mortal remains were brought to his house in Nangal Jhamarwada village.

Political parties scurried to offer compensation to the bereaved family. Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sachin Pilot and former chief minister Ashok Gehlot who visited the family Thursday morning announced Rs. 2 lakh as compensation from the party fund while state Social Justice and Empowerment minister Arun Chaturvedi announced Rs. 6 lakh as compensation. The Aam Aadmi Party too promised Rs. 10 lakh and also offered to pay for the education of Gajendra’s three young children. The state government is yet to announce any relief.

As distraught family members looked on, political leaders traded charges over a deepening farmers’ crisis and mismanagement by the state government. “This is a horrific incident and it should be an eye-opener for the state as well as the central government. Not that the state has never witnessed unseasonal rains or droughts earlier but farmers were so far reassured that they would be taken care of. This incident points to the insecurity of the farmers compounded by worries of battling such huge financial losses. It goes to show that despite big announcements by the state government, no relief has reached the farmers suffering due to crop damage,” alleged Pilot.

Defending the state government, Chaturvedi said that Health Minister Rajendra Rathore will arrive with due compensation for the bereaved family on Friday. “The crisis is completely unforeseen and unimaginable. The state government has made relaxations in compensation norms in favour of farmers and is committed to offer further relief,” Chaturvedi added.

BJP MP Namo Narayan Meena, National People’s Party MLA Kirodi Lal Meena, senior Rajput leader Lokendra Singh Kalvi, former Congress minister Jitendra Singh, former state minister Durru Miyan too attended Gajender’s last rites that was performed by a rivulet near his ancestral village.

Gajender is survived by wife Hema Kanwar, daughter Megha (17) and two sons aged 13 and 8.