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Punjab: Farmer dies during protest against Preneet in Rajpura
A 45-year-old farmer died during a protest against BJP candidate from Patiala Preneet Kaur at Saheri village in Rajpura town of the district on Saturday, following which Kaur cancelled her poll campaign programmes for the day and Sunday
Patiala/Chandigarh/Jalandhar : A 45-year-old farmer died during a protest against BJP candidate from Patiala Preneet Kaur at Saheri village in Rajpura town of the district on Saturday, following which Kaur cancelled her poll campaign programmes for the day and Sunday.
The BJP candidates and leaders have been facing protests from farmers during their campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls.
According to farmer leaders, 45-year-old Surinder Pal Singh fell on the ground during the protest after security personnel pushed them. He was rushed to the Rajpura civil hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.
Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee president Sarwan Singh Pandher said: “The BJP leaders who were pushing the farmers should be booked for murder and the BJP candidate should be booked for criminal conspiracy.”
The BJP candidate’s team released a video clip in which the farmer could be seen collapsing on the ground during the protest.
In a statement, Kaur mourned the death of the farmer. “I am deeply saddened by the demise of farmer Surinder Pal Singh,” she said in her condolence message to the family, while adding, “me and my family have always stood by the farmers and we will continue to do so”.
Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar also expressed grief over the death of the farmer and said the BJP stood firmly behind the kin of the deceased.
Jakhar expressed shock that some political parties were trying to exploit the situation by misquoting facts and giving a political colour to the incident.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal condemned the BJP and AAP for “continuously denying justice” to farmers which, he said, resulted in the death of the farmer during a protest in Patiala.
Mourning the death, the SAD president, who was in Nawanshahr during the “Punjab Bachao Yatra”, said the BJP and AAP have formed an alliance against the farmers and are denying justice to them.
