New Delhi /Dec, 1:  The government has “no record” of the deaths of the farmers who were protesting the three contentious laws – that have now been canceled – over the last one year, Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar told parliament today in a written reply. Questioned by the opposition on the data and if the government proposes to give financial relief to the affected families,  Tomar told Lok Sabha, “(The) Ministry of Agriculture has no record in the mater and hence the question does not arise.”  More than 700 farmers have died, opposition and farmer leaders have said, during the year-long protests against the contentious laws that were canceled on Monday in parliament in one of the fastest repeals in the country’s recent history. This was just ten days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered an “apology to the nation”. 

“While apologising to the nation, I want to say with a sincere and pure heart that maybe something was lacking in our tapasya (dedication) that we could not explain the truth to some of our farmer brothers.” He also requested the demonstrators to return to their homes. “Whatever I did was for farmers. What I am doing is for the country,” the Prime Minister said, defending the laws before the climbdown.