A farmer dies in front of live TV cameras in the midst of a political rally.
A Chief Minister makes a faux pas, ignoring the death, goes on with his rally speech.
Political parties trade charges over the farmer’s death. Aam Admi Party (AAP) is blamed for encouraging a spectacle. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is seen as insensitive to farmer needs, pushing a “corporate” agenda via its Land Bill.
The scenario has all the ingredients of a Bollywood political potboiler. But alas, this was no Peepli Live. This was reality captured on live TV. When you have such high drama unfolding in front of your eyes, it’s bound to affect our political class.
It seems the fate of the ordinance tabled in the Lok Sabha on the Land Bill has also been sealed because of this incident. Many senior leaders this author spoke to, made it clear. A human life lost in front of the media. Whatever be the reality, at this stage, to take up land acquisition bill will be committing political hara-kiri. At least two senior cabinet ministers have already informed the Prime Minister of their views on this subject.
Narendra Modi, who so far hasn’t displayed one single defensive bone in his system, has been on the back foot post the death of Gajendra Singh. Irrespective of the fact that his family has clarified he had sufficient land and other sources of income, that he was not a poor suicidal soul, the PM was candid enough to conclude that perhaps mistakes have been made by successive governments including his, when it comes to handling farmers issues.