RAE BARELI: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday sought to equate the Lakhimpur Kheri violence with Jallianwala Bagh massacre, and said the British had fired bullets from the front, while the the BJP ran over a jeep from behind.
Yadav, who is in Rae Bareli on a two-day tour as part of the seventh leg of 'Samajwadi Vijay Yatra', claimed that the BJP will be wiped out in the upcoming 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
Speaking to reporters, the former chief minister said, "In Uttar Pradesh, the incident of a jeep being run over on farmers took place. If the pages of history are turned back, then one is reminded of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, when the British fired (at people) from the front.
"But, the BJP ran over the jeep on them from behind. No action has been initiated against accused persons. The Union minister of state for home (Ajay Mishra) has not been removed so far. For those who are accused, bulldozers have not been run over their house. This government is working in a discriminatory manner," the SP chief said.
Violence had erupted in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3 when farmers were protesting the visit of Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to Mishra's native place. Four agitating farmers were run over by a vehicle while four others, including a journalist and two BJP workers, were also killed in the violence that ensued.
Ashish Mishra, son of Union minister of state for home Ajay Mishra, has been named as accused.
The SP chief also said as the elections approach, the BJP puts up a lens of religion, and sees everything from that perspective.
Yadav reiterated that in the BJP regime, people have faced 'dikkat' (problems), 'killat' (shortage) and 'zillat' (humiliation), which they have not faced in any other government.
He also said people are feeling insulted today, and the BJP, which is in power, is insulting the people.
