Mamata on Lakhimpur Kheri: They promised Ram Rajya but ‘killing raj’ prevailing in UP

“What is going on in the country is not democracy but autocracy. Farmers were brutally butchered, and they (BJP) didn’t want the truth to come out. That is why they have imposed Section 144 there. People will impose Section 144 on them in the days to come. They are stopping delegations from visiting the locals there,” Banerjee told reporters after visiting a Gurudwara in Bhabanipur, her assembly constituency, news agency PTI reported.

When asked if she feels that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should resign over the law and order situation, Banerjee said, “A killing raj is going on, instead of Ram Rajya as promised by them.”

Reacting sharply to Banerjee’s statement, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Suvendu Adhikari said, “The one who has turned Bengal into a hub of killings should not question UP CM Yogi Adityanath’s efforts to build a ‘Ram Rajya’.”

On Sunday, four farmers were among eight persons killed in UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri after a convoy of three SUVs, including one owned by Ajay Mishra, hit a group of farm protesters leading to a clash. The farm leaders claimed Ashish Mishra was driving one of the SUVs.

The Union MoS told The Indian Express that the four others killed were “BJP workers and a car driver” who died after being “attacked by assailants armed with swords and sticks who were among the farmers”.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was detained by Uttar Pradesh Police on Monday, while on her way to meet the kin of the four farmers who died in Lakhimpur Kheri. Hitting out at UP Police later, she said, “Today’s incident shows that this government is using politics to mow down farmers. This is the farmers’ country, not BJP’s.”

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa were also stopped from reaching Lucknow, with police citing Section 144 being in place in Lakhimpur Kheri.

(With PTI inputs)