Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 11: Even as the court on Monday granted three days police remand to Ashish Mishra, the son of the union minister of state for home Ajay Mishra, the Uttar Pradesh BJP gave a clear indication that it was alienating itself from the gory Lakhimpur-Kheri incident which could seriously impact the ruling party’s poll prospects in the elections to the state Assembly due early next year.
Addressing a party workers’ meeting, the UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh said being a political leader “doesn’t mean that one mow down anyone by a Fortuner car,” an obvious disapproval of the Lakhimpur incident where Ashish Mishra was alleged to have mowed down by his speeding car four farmers and a local journalist while two BJP workers accompanying him and the driver of one of the three cars were killed in retaliatory violence.
The UP BJP chief was addressing the party workers at the inaugural session of the state executive of the party’s minority front in Lucknow. “Elections should be won on basis of one’s conduct. Politics is about serving your society, your nation. There is no caste and religion involved. Being a political leader doesn’t mean that you loot, it doesn’t mean that you mow down anyone by Fortuner. We are in this party to serve the poor. Politics is not a part-time job,” Singh said.
Ashish Mishra, who was placed under arrest on Saturday night after some 12 hours questioning by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), was initially sent to judicial custody and was produced before the court for police remand on Monday. The police arrested him after Ashish Mishra failed to give satisfactory answers about his whereabouts during the time of the incident and was also charged by the police of “non-cooperating” in the investigations.
Ashish was named in an FIR following allegations that he was in one of the vehicles in the convoy that mowed down four farmers at the anti-farm law protest site where they were protesting UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit on October 3.
His arrest after delaying it for six days was indicative of the UP BJP government’s reluctance to associate itself with the incident. Apparently he was asked to appear before the police after his father called on his senior minister Amit Shah in Delhi and discussed the issue. Though Ajay Mishra so far was resisting the opposition demand to quit his post, the BJP government apparently is not willing to help his cause making the farming community its enemy and might dump the Mishra family for the sake of the farmers’ votes.
Meanwhile, bus services across Mumbai were shut following incidents of stone pelting at some places in the wake of the Maharashtra Bandh call given by the Maha Vikas Aghadi government to protest against the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. Eight BEST buses and one leased bus were vandalized between midnight yesterday and this morning in Dharavi, Mankhurd, Shivaji Nagar, Charkop, Oshiwara, Deonar and Inorbit Mall. Several shops and establishments across the state remained shut in solidarity with the bandh across the state.
In several parts of the country, the Congress leaders and workers sat on a ‘maun vrat’ on Monday to protest the Lakhimpur Kheri violence and demand the resignation of Ajay Mishra. “Congress is staging ‘maun vrat satyagrah’ outside offices of governors and lieutenant governors in states and UTs, demanding resignation and arrest of Union minister of state for home (Ajay Mishra), who may influence the probe in the Lakhimpur incident,” Delhi city Congress president Anil Kumar said before starting the protest. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, state president Ajay Kumar Lallu, Legislature Party leader Aradhana Mishra, leader in the Legislative Council Dipak Singh and other Congress leaders staged a protest demonstration in front of the residence of the lieutenant governor.
Meanwhile, the farmers’ leaders have said no politician would be allowed to share the stage with farmer leaders at the Tuesday ‘antim ardas’ prayers for the four farmers who were killed in the Lakhimpur violence on October 3. “The ‘antim ardas’ for all the deceased farmers will be held on Tuesday at Tikonia,” BKU-Tikait’s district president Amandeep Singh said, “only Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders will be present.” The SKM is an umbrella organisation of farmer unions and it is spearheading the protest against three farm laws, which were enacted last year.
Agriculture Produce Markets Committee in Pune has lent its support to the state-wide bandh called by the MVA in solidarity with the farmers in UP. Trading and other work in APMC remained closed till the afternoon on Monday. The country’s biggest onion trading market, Lasalgaon, in Nashik has also stopped all its work in support of the bandh. The traders in Nagpur showed a mixed response to the bandh in the early morning as some supported the bandh while others did not.
The Maharashtra BJP Traders Association opposed the bandh call stating that the traders had gone through very difficult times due to Covid 19 pandemic. “They incurred huge financial loss due to Covid 19 lockdown for the last year. The MVA government has not announced any financial package or incentives to help the traders. Instead, it has now given a clarion call to the traders to participate in bandh which is shocking.”
“The festival season which has started from Navratri is very significant for traders. Every day is important for business. After a year, business is gradually picking up. Any attempt by the state government to force the shops in name of protest or band will be counterproductive,” it further said. While stating that the traders association was not against farmers, it urged the state government to provide generous relief package to farmers who are devastated by recent floods in Maharashtra.