A Congress press conference was held at the party headquarters in which Rahul Gandhi and Randeep Surjewala spoke to the press on the government’s recent reply in Lok Sabha that it did not have the data on how many farmers had died during the farmers’ protest and therefore, the compensation question “does not arise”.

The Congress came out against this earli8er as well, with the party’s leader and Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge saying that “this is an insult” to the farmers who had died.

Rahul Gandhi raised the issue of compensation to farmers who had died during their year-long (and still ongoing) farmers’ movement and criticized the government which says it does not have “any data” on the farmers who died and thus will not be able to provide them compensation.

He quoted the question asked in Lok Sabha two days ago and said that the government is trying t divest itself of responsibility to compensate the farmers by saying that there is no data on who died. The (Congress) government in Punjab has collected the names of 403 names which have been given a compensation of ₹5 Lakh in this regard. 152 have been provided jobs and the remaining will also be given employment, Gandhi said.

“While the government is saying we don’t have the list, we have given them the list”, said Rahul Gandhi.

"Govt. Does Not Want To Provide Compensation, No Decency, Dignity"

He compared the government’s response of having no data on deceased farmers to its previous responses such as on COVID. “They have the list, but do not want to give the compensation. If they want, they can get the list [of deceased farmers] from us”.

He sharply criticized the government and said “Why don’t you have the decency to give them what is their due [sic]. The government of India should compensate these families”

Responding to a question by a PTI journalist, Gandhi said that even though it “is not the responsibility of the Punjab government”, it has still compensated the farmers because “they are going through a difficult time”. “It is not our responsibility or our mistake that has caused this. It is the Prime Minister’s mistake, which he has accepted”. He further blasted PM Modi saying that he does not have “the dignity” to accept his mistake and make amends