LUCKNOW: BJP stepped up attack on SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, accusing him of doing “politics over dead bodies and shedding crocodile tears” for farmers killed in Lakhimpur Kheri. BJP’s counter offensive comes a day after Akhilesh tweeted — UP is mourning killings of farmers, this is not the time for a festival — in an apparent reference to PM’s Narendra Modi inauguration of New Urban India conference as part of 75th year of independence in Lucknow.
State government spokesperson, Sidharthnath Singh said, spreading anarchy in the state was the “core character and identity” of Samajwadi Party. He said chief minister Yogi Adityanath has announced a judicial inquiry for a fair and speedy investigation into the unfortunate incident. “The government will also get to the bottom of incident and track what triggered the tragedy. Whoever is guilty will not be spared,” Singh reiterated.
He said, Rs 45 lakh aid was given to families of each deceased farmer and Rs 10lakh to the injured. Also, a government job has been announced for dependents of deceased farmers, he said. “It was because of efficient management of the situation by CM Yogi Adityanath that Akhilesh could not get political mileage. This is the reason of their grief. We can recall how the entire nation was shocked when SP supported terrorists involved in Varanasi blasts,” said Singh. The CM has expressed grief for what happened in Kheri. Every demand of the farmers has been accepted, he added.
Reacting to NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s remarks on the Kheri incident, Singh said Pawar should remember the heart-wrenching 1994 Nagpur stampede in which 114 persons from the Gowari community were killed and 500 injured after a police lathicharge.
Expressing concern over Pawar’s remark in which he equated the Lakhimpur Kheri incident to Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Singh said, Pawar government had not even expressed regret over what happened during his tenure as CM and instead of helping the downtrodden, he had suppressed them.
