BJP MP Varun Gandhi, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asked for “strict action”taken against Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra, whose son, Ashish Mishra, remains incarcerated for the Lakhimpur Kheri incident which saw the death of eight people, including four farmers. He has echoed demands made by his cousin, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, with regard to Mr. Mishra.
A day after Mr. Modi’s announcement repealing the three farm laws, Mr. Varun Gandhi, while thanking him for his “large-heartedness” for the move, said if the step had been taken earlier, the lives of “many innocent farmers” could have been saved, and that the next step to a full rapprochement with farmers groups would be according statutory guarantee of minimum support price (MSP).
‘Blemish on our democracy’
“The heartbreaking incident (Lakhimpur Kheri) is a blemish on our democracy. It is my request to you that appropriately strict action is taken against the Union minister who has been connected to this incident so that there is a fair enquiry,” he wrote.
Mr. Gandhi was the only BJP MP to protest the Mnister’s alleged role in the incident. He had also written to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asking for the registration of a murder case against those involved in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.
On the issue of statutory guarantee of MSP, he stated, “This movement will not end without the resolution of this demand and there will be widespread anger amongst them (farmers) which will continue to emerge in one form or the other.”
He also sought ₹1 crore compensation for the families of the farmers who lost their lives during the protests and the withdrawal of “all politically motivated false FIRS that have been registered as weapons of harassment” against farmers.
