CHANDIGARH: Demanding the immediate dismissal of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra and the arrest of his son, Ashish, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha on Saturday decided to burn the effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Dussehra, October 15, and a nationwide rail blockade on October 18.
The Morcha, which held a general body meeting at the Singhu border, also announced that ‘antim ardaas’ (Bhog ceremony) will be held in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 12 and a farmers’ mahapanchayat will be held in Lucknow on October 26.
The morcha raised doubts over the investigation carried out by the Uttar Pradesh Police on the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which eight people, including four farmers were killed. SKM leaders Balbir Singh Rajewal, Yogendra Yadav and Rakesh Tikait demanded that the government accept their demands by October 11 or they would go ahead with their agitational programme.
They said Ajay Mishra should be dismissed from the cabinet and arrested on charges of spreading disharmony and murder and termed the incident a “terror attack” and part of a “pre-planned conspiracy.”
Yadav said supporters who cannot come to Lakhimpur Kheri on October 12 should remember those who died at the local gurdwara, temple, mosque or church. “If this is not possible, people can light five candles in memory of those killed in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 12, four farmers and a journalist,” he said.
“On Dussehra, the farm unions will burn the effigies of Modi, Shah, besides other local leaders. Some of the members wanted to burn the effigy of Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and some of UP CM Yogi Adityanath so we decided that the third effigy could be of any local villain.”
The farmer leaders said they have rejected the SIT and the judicial inquiry ordered by the UP government and noted that the Supreme Court had also said it was not satisfied. Farmer leader Joginder Singh Ugrahan, who heads BKU (Ugrahan), said that the Centre has adopted a violent approach against the protesting farmers but they would not turn violent.
Tikait criticised Modi’s “silence” on the incident. “The Lakhimpur Kheri massacre will be remembered as a painful chapter in the history of the farm movement of India. This incident has completely exposed the character of the union government, the UP government and the BJP.”
PROTEST PLAN
October 12: Antim ardas in Lakhimpur Kheri followed by shaheed kisan yatra by taking the asthi of farmers
October 15 (Dussehra): Burn effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah and local leaders
October 18: Rail roko will be organised across the country from 10 am to 4 pm
October 26: Mahapanchayat in Lucknow to protest against the Lakhimpur incident