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Farmer suicide: Confronted by Gajendra's daughter, AAP's Ashutosh breaks down on TV
An emotional Aam Aadmi Party leader Ashutosh on Friday broke down on TV as he tried to deflect allegations of insensitivity leveled against the party after the death of a farmer during a rally attended by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Ashutosh on Friday broke down on TV as he tried to deflect allegations of insensitivity leveled against the party after the death of a farmer during a rally attended by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
An emotional Ashutosh, who sobbed and shed copious tears during a live show on Hindi TV channel Aaj Tak, also pleaded with folded hands to stop the “politicisation” of the sensitive issue and asked media to “stop this sort of journalism”.
Video:Ashutosh breaks down
Ashutosh, who avoided looking at the camera and hid his face with his palms, was clearly taken aback when the farmer’s 17-year-old daughter Megha – who also featured in the live programme – pointedly asked, “Who wrote the fake suicide note? Who incited my father?”
I'm guilty Megha. I could not prevent the death of your father," he told her tearfully.
"I didn't enter politics for this kind of blame game. I want to request Rajnath Singh, Ajay Maken and Sonia Gandhi to stop politicising the death of a farmer," the AAP leader said.
Read:A martyr and his cult: Gajendra's death gives identity to distressed farmers
The AAP leader’s tear-filled defence of the party came barely hours after Kejriwal also admitted to his “mistake” in continuing his speech after the farmer from Rajasthan, Gajendra Singh Kalyanwat, 43, hanged himself from a tree on Wednesday in full public view.
Read:Blame game begins after farmer suicide, witnesses say it was a ‘gimmick’ that went horribly wrong
The farmer’s family has already said that the handwriting on the purported suicide note was not his and hinted that he may have been provoked to carry out the act.
“Couldn’t save your father,” a sobbing Ashutosh said in response to a question by Megha, who was speaking from Nangal Jhamarwada village in Rajasthan’s Dausa district.
HT cartoonist Sajith Kumar's take on Ashutosh breaking down on live TV
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