Farmers Movement Archive

Karnal: Thousands turn up to bid adieu to Sikh priest

KARNAL: The mortal remains of Sikh priest Sant Baba Ram Singh (68), who reportedly shot himself at the Delhi-Sonipat border on Wednesday evening to express support for farmers, was consigned to flames at Nanaksar Gurdwara in Karnal’s Singhra village on Friday. The gurdwara management had made ‘angitha sahiba’ in the gurdwara premises, where the last rites were conducted. Thousands of his followers from Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, and other states reached at gurdwara to pay their tributes. Several religious gurus, politicians, and farmer leaders, including former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur, were also among those who attended the last rites. Jagir Kaur accused the Modi government of its insensitivity, saying when the farmers do not want this new legislations, it (government) was imposing it on them. “Baba ji made a big sacrifice... the government should not be adamant and withdraw these laws immediately,” she said. Hooda, who was accompanied by his son and Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda, said the government should learn a lesson from the sacrifice of Sant Ram Singh and accept the demands of farmers who have been protesting against the new central agri-marketing laws. “I urge the PM to intervene and accept farmer’s demands without any delay. There is no place for stubbornness in a democracy. The government should not test the patience of farmers,” Deepender said. BKU (Tikait) state president Rattan Mann also slammed the government, saying, “His sacrifice will not go in vain. We continue the agitation till the government withdraws these anti-farmer laws. The government should resolve the issue without any delay so that such incidents are not repeated in the days to come.”

The Times of India

2020-12-19

Gurgaon