National

Lakhimpur Kheri: Congress leaders meet President, demand justice for farmers

Our Bureau New Delhi | Updated on October 13, 2021

A Congress delegation led by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra addresses the media after meeting with President Ram Nath Kovind , in New Delhi, on Wednesday   -  Kamal Narang

The delegation also demanded the President to direct an independent judicial investigation by a Commission comprising of two sitting judges of the Supreme Court or High Court

A delegation of Congress, led by former president Rahul Gandhi, met President Ram Nath Kovind here on Wednesday and urged him to immediately dismiss Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Ajay Mishra over the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. The delegation also demanded the President to direct an independent judicial investigation by a Commission comprising of two sitting judges of the Supreme Court or High Court into the violence that claimed lives of eight people, including four farmers and a local journalist.

On October 3, an SUV allegedly belonging to BJP supporters mowed through a crowd of farmers who were protesting against the Centre’s farm reform laws. Four people were killed in the incident. Four more people were killed in the violence that followed, according to reports. An FIR was filed against Ashish Mishra, son of the Minister Ajay Mishra, in connection with the incident and he was taken into police custody on Monday.

‘People’s faith eroded’

The Congress delegation said in a memorandum “This deliberate act of murder, in broad daylight followed by the audacious reactions of the State and Central Governments, has completely eroded the people’s faith in those tasked with bringing these perpetrators to justice,” the memorandum added. Apart from Rahul Gandhi, Opposition leader in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, former Ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad, AK Antony and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were part of the delegation.

The memorandum said Mishra had threatened the agitating farmers and even boasted about his dubious antecedents. “The video of his speech has been played on different public platforms and is available in the public domain. How can justice be done when the original provocation came from Union MoS Home Affairs himself?,” the Congress asked.

Later, talking to reporters, Kharge said justice can be ensured only if Mishra is dismissed from the Cabinet.

Published on October 13, 2021

Follow us on Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Linkedin. You can also download our Android App or IOS App.

Uttar Pradesh
  1. Comments will be moderated by The Hindu Business Line editorial team.
  2. Comments that are abusive, personal, incendiary or irrelevant cannot be published.
  3. Please write complete sentences. Do not type comments in all capital letters, or in all lower case letters, or using abbreviated text. (example: u cannot substitute for you, d is not 'the', n is not 'and').
  4. We may remove hyperlinks within comments.
  5. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name, to avoid rejection.

You May Also Like