No data on farmer death during farm laws protests, so no question of aid: Government in Parliament

The government has no data on the deaths of farmers who were protesting against the farm laws (which have now been repealed) for over a year, Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar informed the parliament in a written reply on Wednesday, reported NDTV.

Responding to a question on the data of deaths at protest sites near Delhi borders, and if the government is planning to give financial relief to the affected families, Tomar told Lok Sabha, "(The) Ministry of Agriculture has no record in the matter, and hence the question (of aid) does not arise."

Over 700 farmers have died, opposition and farmer leaders have said, during the year-long protests at Delhi borders against farm laws that were repealed on Monday in parliament.

While the farm laws have been repealed by a bill that was passed wuth a voice vote without any discussion in the parliament, farmers are now asking the Centre for assurance on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their produce - which has been another of the key demand by the farmers.

The government has sought names of representatives from the protesting farm unions for a panel proposed by the Prime Minister to hold talks.

"The Centre has asked for five names from the SKM (Samkyukt Kisan Morcha) for the committee that will deliberate on the issue of minimum support price (MSP) for crops. We have not yet decided on the names. We will decide this in our meeting on Saturday," SKM leader Darshan Pal told news agency PTI on Tuesday.