New Delhi: The Union government told the Parliament that it had "no record" of the number of farmers who died during the year-long protests against the three farm laws and hence there was no question of providing financial assistance to anyone.
However, farmer unions and Opposition leaders have claimed that 700 farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, lost their lives during the protests.
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In reply to a question on whether the government proposed to provide financial assistance to the kin of farmers who died during the agitation, Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar said, "The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare has no record in the matter and hence the question does not arise."
Thousands of farmers have been camping at several Delhi border points since November 26 last year. While their demand for repeal of the farm laws was accepted by the Centre, the farmers are now seeking a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP) for their crops.
They have also demanded the withdrawal of cases against the farmers filed during the agitation and compensation for the families of the deceased farmers.
On Monday, Parliament approved the repeal of the three farm laws on the opening day of the winter session without any debate.
Citing the latest NCRB report, Narendra Tomar also told Parliament that the number of farmers who committed suicide dropped to 5,579 in 2020 as compared to 5,957 in the previous year.
"The causes of suicides of persons (including farmers) are family problems, illness, drug abuse/addiction, marriage related issues, love affairs, bankruptcy or indebtedness, failure in examination, unemployment, professional/career problem and property dispute," PTI quoted Tomar as saying.
The maximum number of farmers' suicides committed during 2020 was reported from Maharashtra (2,567 cases), followed by Karnataka (1,072), Andhra Pradesh (564), Telangana (466), Madhya Pradesh (235) and Chhattisgarh (227), as per the NCRB data.