Compensation Bonanza to Lakhimpur Violence Victims, Punjab, Chhattisgarh to Give More than UP Government

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Oct 6: Even as a Congress delegation led by the former president Rahul Gandhi left Lucknow on way to Sitapur to pick up his sister Priyanka Gandhi for a joint visit to Lakhimpur Kheri on Wednesday, the Uttar Pradesh government lashed out at the opposition claiming that the political parties had adopted a negative attitude in the sensitive incident. The government also cautioned all the opposition leaders that it would not allow anyone to “vitiate” the atmosphere.

As against Rs 45 lakhs each to the family members of the violence victim farmers agreed upon by the UP government after hard negotiations with the leaders of the agitating farmers on Tuesday, the Punjab and Chhattisgarh governments on Wednesday announced compensation of Rs 50 lakhs each to the four farmer victims and the local journalist also killed during the violence.

The UP Government spokesperson and cabinet minister Sidharth Nath Singh alleged that the opposition parties wanted to visit Lakhimpur Kheri for a photo opportunity and “now yuvraj , referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, had decided to tour the area.

“Government has taken a decision (by denying permission) as per law and has also requested them (Rahul Gandhi) not to come,” he told reporters. Later, however, the government decided to allow the opposition leaders to meet the family members of the victim farmers who were mowed down allegedly by a motorcade of the son of union minister Ajay Mishra.

Singh said the state government would go deep into the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. “In the Lakhimpur case, the law will take its own course and guilty will be caught,” he said. Singh alleged that the opposition’s attitude on the sensitive Lakhimpur incident was “negative”.

“They got a chance for a photo opportunity and do Twitter politics while sitting at home. Their objective is to take photos and post it on social media,” he said. “No one will be allowed to vitiate the atmosphere,” he added.

Just before the Congress delegation left the Lucknow airport, the two Congress chief ministers, Charanjit Singh Channi of Punjab and Bhupesh Baghel of Chhattisgarh announced compensation of Rs 50 lakhs from each of the states to the family members of the farmer victims and the local journalist killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

Making the announcement, Channi said, “My state is an agriculture-dominated state and if farmers are going to be killed, we are not going to sit quiet. Congress will not sit quiet. We had a discussion with Rahul Gandhi here and have decided that the Punjab government will provide Rs 50 lakh to the families of the farmers and the journalist who died in the incident.”

He further said the Congress was with farmers and would visit their houses for sure. Equating the Lakhimpur incident with the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Channi said, “Yeh dictatorship nahi chalegi (this dictatorship can’t go on).”

Following Channi, Baghel said just like Punjab, Chhattisgarh was also an agriculture-dominated state referred to as “Dhan ka katora (rice bowl).”  “Saare kisan akroshit hain. Aj Rahul ji ke sath humein anumati mili hai, Hum milenge peedit pariwar se. Jaise ki Channi sahab ne kaha….Chhattisgarh bhi kisanon ka pradesh hai aur isliye Chhattisgarh sarkar ki or se pratek pariwar ko Rs 50 lakh rupey, sath hi patrakar ke pariwar ko bhi (Farmers are angry. We will visit the aggrieved family and pay compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the kin of farmers and the journalist killed),” Baghel said.

The two CMs along with Rahul Gandhi also sat on a dharna at the airport after the police asked them to proceed only in an official vehicle.

The UP minister while attacking Gandhi said, “now yuvraj of a party has also decided for political tourism as his sister is already there, referring to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who is in detention at the PAC compound in Sitapur since Monday morning. He (Rahul Gandhi) might not remember that it was in the Congress regime during the emergency when the massacre took place. Sikhs were killed in 1984 riots,” Singh said.

“Rahul says he wants to visit Lakhimpur to know the ground reality. If they know nothing, why you and your sister are jumping (kud rahe hai) on the issue. You put a photo of a drone being used in Sitapur. What’s wrong with it? It’s the technology which is being used by the police,” he said.

On Rahul Gandhi’s allegation over the post-mortem of the victims, Singh said, “All the families agreed to its report. On request of one family, which had an objection, a panel of four doctors was sent for re-postmortem.” The probe is being conducted in full “transparency”, he claimed. He alleged atrocities being committed on farmers in Congress-ruled Punjab and Rajasthan.

Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that farmers are being “systematically attacked” and there is “dictatorship” in India now with politicians not being allowed to visit Uttar Pradesh to meet the families of the victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.

Arguing with the police before the Congress delegation was given permission to come out of the Lucknow airport, Rahul Gandhi asked,  “Are you deciding how I would move? Just tell me the rule in this country that you would tell a citizen that you have to go through this route,” Rahul Gandhi told police officers, who cited a traffic jam and said it might create inconvenience.

“They want that we go with them in their vehicle. I am a citizen of this country, I have come to Uttar Pradesh. First they said I can go then now they are saying that you have to go in police vehicle,” Rahul Gandhi told media persons, adding, “I just want to go to Lakhimpur Kheri. They think that we are afraid of them but we are not.” He said the issue was not that “Priyanka or I am kept at makeshift jails”, but that “six people have been run over by a criminal.”

Speaking to media the Lakhimpur Kheri DM Arvind Kumar Chaurasiya stated that they had on Tuesday, “handed over cheques of Rs 45 lakh each to families of two deceased farmers.” “Families of four others will receive cheques today. Two of the deceased were from Bahraich and that is being looked into by the Bahraich district administration,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Congress, led by state unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, decided to take out a protest march on Thursday to Lakhimpur Kheri over the issue of killing of farmers. The march will begin from Mohali at noon, party sources said.