Uma Bharti contests Priyanka Gandhi's right to talk on farmers' issues; cites track record

Senior BJP leader Uma Bharti on Tuesday contended that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other Congress leaders had no right to talk about problems faced by farmers. Detained on the way to meet the families of the farmers killed in Lakhimpur-Kheri on October 3, the Congress general secretary claimed that she has been detained for 28 hours without any formal charge. Taking to Twitter, Bharti opined that farmers started suffering when India's first PM Jawaharlal Nehru quashed Mahatma Gandhi's dream of making agriculture the main base of the economy.

On this occasion, she also took a veiled dig at Congress' invocation of non-violence and democratic principles in wake of the Lakhimpur violence. The former Union Minister added, "The Congress party which imposed Emergency in the country has lost the right to even utter the word 'democracy'. The word 'non-violence' does not suit Congress whose leaders and workers killed 10,000 Sikhs in the 1984 riots". Instead, Bharti advised Congress to cooperate with the government and adopt a positive attitude to solve the issues of farmers.

The Lakhimpur violence

Violence erupted between farmers and BJP workers leaving 8 persons including 4 farmers dead ahead of an event in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri district on October 3 where UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya was invited as the Chief Guest. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha accused Union MoS Home Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra of mowing down farmers, attacking SKM leader Tajinder Singh Virk by trying to run a vehicle over him and causing one death by opening fire on the protesters. On the other hand, the Union MoS Home disputed that his son was at the site of the crime.

According to Ajay Mishra, three BJP workers and a driver were killed by the protesters when their vehicle turned turtle following stone-pelting by farmers. Speaking exclusively to Republic TV, Ashish Mishra claimed that he was present in the annual 'Dangal' event organised in the Banbirpur village when the incident took place. Later on Monday, the farmers allowed the police to take the victims' bodies for post-mortem after the Yogi Adityanath-led government agreed to most of their demands.

Addressing a press briefing alongside BKU spokesperson Rakesh Tikait, DG (Law & Order) Prashant Kumar stated that an FIR will be registered on the complaint of farmers and a retired High Court judge will probe the violence. He also announced that the state government will provide a compensation of Rs.45 lakh and a government job to the families of the deceased farmers and Rs.10 lakh to the injured. But farmers have also sought the resignation of the Union MoS Home and Ashish Mishra's arrest.