Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 9: Even as the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, the umbrella body of farmer unions spearheading the ongoing farmers’ protests against Centre’s farm laws, held the Lakhimpur Kheri violence incident a “pre-planned conspiracy” of the BJP to crush the agitation, the principal accused Ashish Mishra, son of the union minister of state for home Ajay Mishra, appeared before the Uttar Pradesh police for questioning on Saturday amidst a VVIP treatment.
Mishra, who ignored the police summons on Friday, which his father said due to his “poor health” was escorted by dozens of policemen when he presented himself before the Special Investigation Team constituted by the UP government to probe into the Sunday’s violence in which four farmers and a local journalist were mowed down under speeding cars and three people, including two BJP workers killed in retaliatory violence. The Senior SKM leader Darshan Pal accused the BJP of attempting to dislodge the current agitation by resorting to violent measures, and their intent has been exposed in the backdrop of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. He said the Lakhimpur Kheri violence should not been seen in isolation as the incident is a part of larger conspiracy against farmers’ and the ongoing struggle. “The Lakhimpur incident is an attempt to create an atmosphere to terrorise people and to shut people’s voice. The SKM has stood firmly against this approach and will continue to raise the voice,” he said at a press conference in New Delhi.
Joginder Singh, president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan), one of the SKM constituent said the ongoing farmer’s agitation was going on peacefully, but BJP governments – be it at the Centre or in UP — have been attempting various tactics to dislodge the movement. “The BJP had been repeatedly trying to align the movement with one or the other with the sole aim of discrediting it. Sometimes they (BJP) associated the movement with ‘Khalistanis’, then with ‘Pakistan-China’ and then tried to label us as anti-national, but all their attempts have failed. Now, in the last few months they have started to play new game, which is resorting to violence, and this is dangerous,” Singh said.
“Even though the BJP is involving in violence, we will reply in a peaceful manner, which is the strength of our movement. Our agitation will continue until our demands are fulfilled. There’s no question of relenting now,” he added. Singh demanded that Ajay Mishra should be immediately sacked and both he and his son arrested. “We will observe October 12 as ‘Shaheed Kisan Diwas’ and we appealed to the farmers all over the country to join the ‘antim ardas’ (final rites) of the farmers, who died in Lakhimpur Kheri at Tikonia,” he said.
SKM’s senior leader Yogendra Yadav said “If the demands are not accepted by October 11, then the SKM will launch a nationwide protest program. After the ‘antim ardas’ on October 12, a ‘Shaheed Kisan Yatra’ will be taken out from Lakhimpur Kheri by taking the ‘asthi’ (ashes) of martyr farmers in each district of Uttar Pradesh and each state of the country.” On the Dusshera festival day on October 15, the effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and that of local BJP leaders would be burnt. A ‘rail roko’ agitation would be held across the country on October 18. Besides, on October 26, a ‘Mahapanchayat’ would be organised in Lucknow to protest against the Lakhimpur incident, he added.
The police refused to reveal on the interrogation of Ashish Mishra by the nine-member SIT team headed by D.I.G. Upendra Agarwal formed to investigate the FIR lodged against the minister’s son and others. Ashish Mishra was supposed to appear before police on Friday, but he did not do so. The UP Police then issued a fresh notice asking him to appear before it by 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Two persons who were alleged to be accompanying Ashish in the vehicle that crushed he farmers were arrested on Friday after the Supreme Court expressed strong disapproval of the UP government’s inaction in arresting the accused, but the “unwell” Ashish Mishra was “allowed to rest at home.” After the investigating team waited for three hours for Ashish Mishra to appear, the police pasted another notice at his home asking him to respond on Saturday which he did.
After Ashish Mishra appeared before the police, the Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu ended his hunger strike. Sidhu started the hunger strike on Friday at the Lakhimpur residence of late journalist Raman Kashyap, who was among the eight people killed in the October 3 violence, and vowed to continue it until Ashish reports to the police or is arrested.
Meanwhile, amid demands by the Opposition to arrest the Union Minister’s son, the UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said there would be no injustice with anyone and no action would be taken under any kind of pressure or without evidence.
Attacking the UP Government over the handling of the probe in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, Samajwadi Party chief and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav alleged it was giving “bouquet” to culprits instead of bringing them to book.
The opposition leader’s remarks came barely a few hours after Ashish Mishra appeared before the SIT accompanied by dozens of police escorts. Speaking to reporters Akhilesh Yadav said, “The way farmers were crushed, now preparations are on to crush the laws. This government has pulverised the Constitution. You have seen how a vehicle ran over farmers who were fighting for their rights. The guilty persons are yet to be caught. Instead of giving summons, a flower bouquet is being given. The summon is only in name, and (in reality) ‘samman’ (honour) is given,” he alleged.
Meanwhile, making an insensitive statement, the agitating farmers’ leader Rakesh Tikait said, “Don’t consider those who killed BJP workers in Lakhimpur as culprits, they only reacted to SUV running over protesters.” He said the killing of the BJP workers was a “reaction to an action”, and “hum galat nahi mante hain (would not call it wrong).”
“The killing of two BJP workers in Lakhimpur Kheri after a convoy of cars ran over four farmers is a reaction to an action. I do not consider those involved in the killings as guilty (of a crime),” Tikait told reporters at a press conference – attended by other farmer union leaders – in Delhi. This was a day after he described those who ran over farmers as “cold-hearted people”, tweeting, “Those who crushed people to death cannot be men… they are ‘cold-hearted’ people.”
The SKM said the background for Lakhimpur Kheri violence was set during Ajay Mishra’s speech on September 25. “He had said they will throw out those working in Lakhimpur Kheri by taking the land on lease,” said SKM’s Darshan Pal.