Aam Aadmi Party accuses Rajnath Singh of 'lying'

A day after the suicide of Gajendra Singh, a farmer from Rajasthan, at an Aam Aadmi Party rally here, the Centre and the Delhi government were locked in a stand-off on Thursday with Home Minister Rajnath Singh and the Delhi Police accusing the party, which rules the State, and its leaders of instigating the suicide.

The AAP said the Delhi Police, a Central force, did not act in time even after being alerted by party volunteers.

FIR blames party workers

Home Minister Rajnath Singh has backed the Delhi Police which is under fire for allegedly not doing enough to stop the farmer Gajendra Singh from committing suicide during an Aam Aadmi Party rally here on Wednesday.

The Minister said in the Lok Sabha that while the policemen on duty called up the control room and tried to get help from the fire brigade to stop the suicide, AAP volunteers egged him on. Instead of talking him out of the suicide, as was generally done, the crowd kept clapping and raised slogans, he said.

“The crowd was clapping. The police requested them to stop raising slogans,” he said.

The AAP, which has been demanding that the Delhi Police be brought under the control of the State government, accused the Home Minister of lying in Parliament. “The Home Minister is lying and giving misleading statements. It is the Union government’s ploy to target the AAP using the Delhi Police ... Media recorded the incident as it happened and should put out the tapes in public to establish the truth,” party spokesperson Sanjay Singh said. The party declared an assistance of Rs. 10 lakh for the family of the deceased, and promised to support his children’s education.