Parveen Arora
Tribune News Service
Karnal, December 18
Thousands of followers bid a tearful adieu to Baba Ram Singh, spiritual preacher and head sewadar of Nanaksar gurdwara, at Singhra village on Friday.
The last rites were performed on the gurdwara premises and the mortal remains consigned to flames with the chanting of prayers. Live-streaming was arranged for those who could not visit the gurdwara.
A note by Baba Ram Singh in his diary, written after his first visit to the Singhu border on December 9, was read by a preacher.
In his diary, Baba Ram Singh had written that he was pained to see the problems being faced by farmers at the protest site amid the cold wave.
The 68-year-old preacher had reportedly shot himself at the Singhu border on Wednesday evening. According to a handwritten note in Punjabi, purportedly left behind by him, he was unable to bear the pain of farmers.
Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the government should learn a lesson and accept the demands of agitating farmers.
"The government should learn from the sacrifice and accept the demands of farmers, which will be the true tribute to Baba Ram Singh and all farmers who had died during the stir," he said.
"Farmers are sitting peacefully and braving the cold under the open sky, but the government is not bothered. A democratically elected government should not take a stubborn attitude as there is no place for stubbornness in a democracy," he said.
Bibi Jagir Kaur, SGPC president, said Baba Ram Singh's death was a big loss to humanity. "Babaji sacrificed his life to wake up the government as he could not bear the pain of farmers. If the government still does not accept their demands, it is a cruel government," she said.
Sanyukt Kisan Morcha members Manjeet Singh Rai, Baldev Singh Sirsa and others appealed to the farming community and others not to take the extreme step as they could not afford more sacrifices.
"It is a big loss for society. We appeal to people not to take such a step. We will not go back till the laws are repealed," said Rai.
Sirsa said it was a wake-up call for the government and it should act immediately to avoid such incidents in the future.
Rajya Sabha member Deepender Hooda, BKU (Charuni) president Gurnam Singh Charuni, Bhartiya Kisan Mazdoor Naujawan Union president Rajinder Dadupur and several MLAs paid their last respects to the preacher.
from The Tribune https://ift.tt/2J7K9Aa
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