I should have stopped my #speech, #CMKejriwal says #sorry on farmer’s suicide 

New Delhi: Two days after a farmer from Rajasthan hanged himself from a tree in full public gaze at an AAP rally in Delhi; Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today apologised for not calling off the event and admitted that his making a speech was a “mistake

Live updates here:

• Rajasthan Health Minister Rajendra Rathore has visited Gajendra Singh’s residence in Dausa and met his family members.
• We can’t share details on correspondence with the District Magistrate with the media, it’s a privileged communication, says Bhagat on police’s refusal to cooperate with DM’s probe into the matter.
• Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat says necessary action will be taken in the matter of farmer’s suicide.
• Apology from the side of Delhi CM is not enough, he did not do what he should have done before, says senior Congress leader Anand Sharma.
• You can’t make farmer a spectacle, a showpiece of your office, can’t make theatrical of suicide scene in your rally, says senior BJP leader and Union minister Prakash Javadekar.
• Just want to tell Kejriwal that by apologising, the farmer (Gajendra Singh) will not come back, says BSP chief Mayawati.
• Kiran Bedi has tweeted on the farmer’s suicide issue without mentioning Arvind Kejriwal’s name. She wrote on Twitter: “Recall my days in service,many apologised in the Courts, for whatever reasons. But the Courts said,”now the law will take its own course…(sic).”
• Politicisation of this issue is saddening – Sheila Dikshit
• Government is not run by blame game, says former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit.
• Gajendra Singh’s family says Arvind Kejriwal’s sorry won’t solve the problem. They told Zee Media that Gajendra was instigated into committing suicide.
• When it comes to Mr Kejriwal his entire politics is focused on allegations. He is the king of blame games, says BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli.
• Reports say the post-mortem report of Gajendra Singh is ready and has been handed over to cops at the Parliament Street Police Station. They have forwarded the report to the Delhi Police’s Crime Branch which is investigating the case.
• Arvind Kejriwal might have said sorry but I request the Delhi CM to cooperate in the probe rather than politicise the issue, says Gajendra Singh’s brother Virendra.
• Why is media not focussing on stopping farmers’ suicide – Kejriwal
• By continuing to debate on the issue who was guilty, media is only increasing its TRP
• Only a probe will reveal the truth behind the incident
• I am unable to digest what happened. I could not sleep that night
• I request all to bring the focus of debate back on farmers’ issues
• Three – if farmers suffer crop damage, getting compensation should be their right and not a CM’s prerogative
• Two – farmers would get a fair price for their crops
• One – land won’t be snatched from farmers without their consent
• There are three issues facing the farmers
• A drama has been going on ever since the incident happened
• Whoever is guilty, hang him. But I request with folded hands, we need to find why are farmers committing suicide – Kejriwal
• If I have hurt anyone’s sensitivity, I am sorry

The Chief Minister, who has earlier publicly denounced the land bill, underlined that the focus ought to be on preventing “forcible land acquisition”, appropriate compensation for damaged crops as a “right” and implementation of Swaminathan committee recommendations.

Whatever is happening for the last two days is not right. Don’t tear the issue into pieces. It will get you TRPs but farmers won’t get anything out of it. “Delhi’s farmers are happy with the compensation amount that I have declared,” Kejriwal said.

Referring to the aftermath of the incident, that marred the AAP’s rally against the contentious Bill, Kejriwal added, “I am saying this happened in front of the Delhi CM. I couldn’t sleep the whole night.”

Bureau Report