Rakesh Tikait demands dismissal, arrest of Union Minister Ajay Mishra over Lakhimpur Kheri violence
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait has said that MoS Home Ajay Mishra should be arrested for his role in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. Speaking to India TV, Tikait said that Mishra should be sacked immediately and that he be arrested forthwith for an impartial probe. He said that the protest against the Lakhimpur violence will intensify if Ajay Mishra was not removed from his post.
"Ajay Teni should be charged under Section 120B. He is freely roaming. A video of Teni has surfaced wherein he is heard saying that he is threatening farmers... He is behind the whole (Lakhimpur) incident," Tikait said while voicing dissatisfaction over the probe.
"The rail roko agitation is for six hours. The objective behind this agitation is to press for the minister's resignation and arrest. A fair investigation is not possible till the minister is removed from his post," he added.
Ashish Mishra, the son of the Union Minister, alleged to be in one of the cars that mowed down the protesters in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3, was arrested after 12 hours of questioning last week. The BKU leader noted that the 'red carpet' arrest of the minister's son who is the main accused in the incident has fuelled anger among the protesting farmers. He claimed that the minister was influencing the SIT investigation.
The BKU has given a call for a six-hour nationwide 'rail roko' agitation today and a 'kisan mahapanchayat' in Lucknow on October 26.
To a question about the lynching of a man at the Singhu border in Delhi, Tikait said that Nihangs have already clarified that it is religious issue and not linked to farmers’ protest.
“They (the Nihangs) have said that it is a religious matter and the government should not link it to farmers’ protest… Farmers have also said that this was a religious issue," he said.
