Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra being taken from the Crime Branch office to be produced before a magistrate, in Lakhimpur Kheri, on Saturday. (PTI)Union minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra, who was arrested last week after nearly 12 hours of questioning in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, has been sent to three-day police remand.
Ashish was named in an FIR following allegations that he was in one of the vehicles in the convoy that mowed down four farmers at the anti-farm law protest site in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri, where they were protesting UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit on October 3.
Meanwhile, BJP sources said on Monday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take a final call on MoS Ajay Mishra’s resignation once the police probe is completed. At least three senior party leaders The Indian Express spoke to pointed out that the Union Minister has denied his son’s involvement in the incident and that the police have not found any evidence against him.
In other news, bus services across Mumbai were shut following incidents of stone pelting at some places in the wake of the Maharashtra bandh called by the Maha Vikas Aghadi government to protest against the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. Eight BEST buses and one leased bus were vandalized between midnight yesterday and this morning in Dharavi, Mankhurd, Shivaji Nagar, Charkop, Oshiwara, Deonar and Inorbit Mall. Several shops and establishments across the state remained shut in solidarity with the bandh across the state.
Indian Youth Congress members stage over the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, in New Delhi on Saturday. (Photo: PTI)
According to PTI, the Sikh community of Bahraich and relatives of a farmer killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence have demanded that the victim's village be named after him.
Bahraich's Gurdwara Guru Singh Sabha president Mandeep Singh Walia said the demand to rename Moharnia village as "Gurvinder Nagar" has been made to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath through the state minorities commission.
An 11-member delegation, led by commission member Parvinder Singh, had met families of the violence victims last week.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Monday said that by not dismissing Mos Ajay Mishra, BJP is obstructing the process of justice in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. "The central government neither cares about the farmers nor the BJP workers who were killed," he said in a tweet.
The Gujarat Congress on Monday staged a silent protest against the killing of farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh on October 3 and demanded an inquiry into the incident under the direct supervision of a Supreme Court judge.
Newly appointed Gujarat Congress in-charge Raghu Sharma, who is Health Minister in the Rajasthan government, led the silent protest organised by the party outside the Mahatma Gandhi-founded Kochrab Ashram in Paldi area of the city. (PTI)
Congress leaders led by party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra staged a silent protest here on Monday demanding the dismissal of Union minister Ajay Mishra in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.
Congress workers and leaders, including state president Ajay Kumar Lallu, Legislature Party leader Aradhana Mishra, leader in the Legislative Council Dipak Singh among others were also present.
MoS Ajay Mishra Teni's son Ashish Mishra has been sent to three-day police remand with conditions, SP Yadav, Prosecution Advocate was quoted as saying by ANI.
No politician will be allowed to share the stage with farmer leaders at the Tuesday 'antim ardas' prayers for the four farmers who were killed in the violence here on October 3, news agency PTI reported.
"The 'antim ardas' for all the deceased farmers will be held on Tuesday at Tikonia," BKU-Tikait's district president Amandeep Singh was quoted as saying by the news agency.
On whether politicians will be part of the prayers, BKU-Tikait district vice president Balkar Singh said, "No political leader will be allowed to share the stage where only Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders will be present." The SKM is an umbrella organisation of farmer unions and it is spearheading the protest against three farm laws, which were enacted last year.
A day after her rally in Varanasi, Priyanka Gandhi sits on silent protest in front of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Lucknow, demanding removal of MoS (Home) Ajay Mishra.
Delhi Congress leaders and workers sat on a 'maun vrat' near the lieutenant governor's office in New Delhi on Monday to protest the Lakhimpur Kheri violence and demand the resignation of Union Minister Ajay Mishra. Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar and former Union ministers Ashwini Kumar and Krishna Tirath were among those who attended the protest.
"Congress is staging 'maun vrat satyagrah' outside offices of governors and lieutenant governors in states and UTs, demanding resignation and arrest of Union minister of state for home (Ajay Mishra), who may influence the probe in the Lakhimpur incident," Kumar said before starting the protest.
Indian Youth Congress leaders and workers also sat on a 'maun vrat' at the Jantar Mantar.
Congress leaders held a sit-in at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai. Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole and Mumbai chief Bhai Jagtap were part of the protest agains the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.
“Today’s bandh is to protest the Lakhimpur Kheri incident where innocent farmers were killed by those enjoying political power,” Shiv Sena MP Raut said, speaking to media outside his residence in Mumbai.
On reports of stone-pelting in some places in the state, Raut said, “When you hold demonstrations some untoward incidents like stone-pelting on buses, etc takes place. This has been the phenomenon across the world.”
Commenting on BJPs traders association protest and some leaders threatening to foil the bandh, Raut said, ” I dare them to come out in street and declare their stand. If anybody tries to counter the band they will face the ramifications.”
“From what we noticed the bandh is a success. Maharashtra has given a loud message — atrocities against farmers will not be tolerated,” Raut added. Read more.
Bus services of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) were closed in Mumbai on Monday after incidents of stone pelting at some places here in the wake of the Maharashtra bandh called by three ruling parties in the state to protest the killing of four farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri district, officials said. Nine buses, including one hired on lease, were damaged in areas like Dharavi, Mankhurd, Shivaji Nagar, Charkop, Oshiwara, Deonar and near Inorbit Mall here early morning, said a statement issued by BEST, which is the transport undertaking of the city civic body. "The BEST administration has called for police protection and buses will be operated from all depots after reviewing the situation," the statement said.
NCP leader Nawab Malik urges people to maintain peace during the protest. "MVA's call for bandh today against killings in Lakhimpur Kheri (in UP) has received support from Left & some other parties and trade unions. The bandh is being observed peacefully across Maharashtra with widespread public support. There are reports about stone pelting at some places, which is not right. No one should indulge in such activities... We demand the resignation/termination of Union Minister Ajay Kumar Mishra," he said, news agency ANI reported
Agriculture Produce Markets Committee in Pune has lent its support to the state-wide bandh in solidarity with the farmers in Uttar Pradesh. Trading and other work in APMC will remain closed till the afternoon.
The country's biggest onion trading market, Lasalgaon, in Nashik has also stopped all its work in support of the bandh.
Meanwhile, traders in Nagpur showed a mixed response to the bandh in the early morning as some supported the bandh while others did not.
The Maharashtra BJP Traders Association has opposed the bandh called by the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state.
The association in a statement issued on Monday said, " The traders have gone through very difficult times due to Covid 19 pandemic. They incurred huge financial loss due to Covid 19 lockdown for the last year. The MVA government has not announced any financial package or incentives to help the traders. Instead, it has now given a clarion call to the traders to participate in bandh which is shocking."
"The festival season which has started from Navratri is very significant for traders. Every day is important for business. After a year, business is gradually picking up. Any attempt by the state government to force the shops in name of protest or band will be counterproductive," it further said.
While stating that the traders association was not against farmers, it urged the state government to provide generous relief package to farmers who are devastated by recent floods in Maharashtra. (ENS, Mumbai)
Most establishments in Navi Mumbai and Mumbai are shut in support of the MVA's call for a state-wide bandh to protest against the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. Lesser than normal traffic was seen on Navi Mumbai streets.
The Uttar Pradesh Police will file an application before a court on Monday seeking further custody of accused Ashish Mishra in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident that claimed the lives of eight people, including four farmers, earlier this month. The local court in Lakhimpur Kheri will hear the matter on October 11 on whether Ashish Mishra should be sent to police custody or not. Ashish, the son of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra, was arrested on Saturday, after 12 hours of interrogation by the Crime Branch of Uttar Pradesh. During the interrogation, his mobile was also seized for investigation.
The Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP will be working together in close coordination to ensure the success of the October 11 state-wide bandh, which was announced by the three parties last week. On Wednesday, the state cabinet presided over by CM Uddhav Thackeray had passed a resolution expressing regret over the deaths in Lakhimpur Kheri. The ministers had condoled the deaths and stood in silence for two minutes as a mark of respect. The Shiv Sena and Congress had subsequently expressed their support for the bandh, with both parties claiming that they would actively participate and ensure that the bandh is a success.
The opposition BJP criticised the bandh call and said that parties are playing politics over the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. Read More
After the arrest of Union MoS Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra on murder charges, the UP Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Lakhimpur Kheri incident has started conducting raids to trace a relative of former Congress MP, the late Akhilesh Das, for questioning in the case, The Indian Express has learnt. On Monday, the police are also likely to seek custody of launch raids to trace ex-Cong MP’s nephew. (Read Manish Sahu's report)
Union minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra, who was arrested on Saturday after nearly 12 hours of questioning in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, has been remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.
A medical team examined the accused in the crime branch office Saturday late at night after which he was taken to court for production before a judicial magistrate, who sent him to judicial custody, PTI reported. Read more
ustice is not possible in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case so long as the father of accused Ashish continues to remain a Union minister, AAP MP Sanjay Singh said Sunday, demanding the sacking of Ajay Kumar Mishra as a minister of state for home affairs. He alleged the BJP and the Yogi Adityanath government "tried their best to save" Mishra's son Ashish but he had to be arrested as no other option was left before the Uttar Pradesh government after the Supreme Court intervened in the matter. "As long as Ajay Mishra continues to remain a minister of state for home affairs, justice cannot be done in this case," Singh, who has been camping in Uttar Pradesh, said in a video message. --PTI
Mumbai Police will deploy the maximum manpower at their disposal on the streets on Monday to prevent any untoward incident during the Maharashtra bandh called by the three ruling parties to protest the killing of four farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri, a police official said on Sunday.
The shutdown has been called by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies- the Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress. The police official said patrolling will be intensified. "Three companies of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF), 500 Home Guard personnel and 400 men from the Local Arms units are already deployed as additional manpower for the ongoing Navratri festival security. But, keeping the bandh in mind, Mumbai Police will use the maximum manpower to tackle any situation. Police bandobast will be (stepped up) on streets on Monday," the official said. --PTI
The second FIR lodged over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence claims “bad elements” among farm law protesters attacked BJP workers who were in an SUV but makes no reference to the mowing down of farmers or presence of Union minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish in the car.
The FIR was lodged on October 4 at the Tikonia police station over the alleged lynching of BJP workers while the other one mentions name of Ashish Mishra, who was allegedly in one of the cars that knocked down four farmers. Read more
aunching a scathing attack on the BJP government over the deaths in Lakhimpur Kheri, AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Sunday said that the government is “shielding” Union MoS Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish, and the Centre has never listened earnestly to issues being faced by the farmers.
“Last week, the son of Union MoS (Home) mowed down six farmers with his vehicle. Families of all the victims said they want justice but all of you have seen is that the government is shielding the minister and his son? Have you seen in any country that a person who mowed down six people is being ‘invited’ by the police to talk to them?” Gandhi said while addressing the ‘Kisan Nyay’ rally in Varanasi. Read more
Senior Congress leader and former Union minister Salman Khurshid on Sunday termed the October 3 violence in Lakhimpur Kheri as "tragic" and said this was not an ordinary crime as it was committed because of a "particular callous attitude" towards a democratic protest. He also said that "one should not see an opportunity in this tragedy". Eight people died in the violence and of them, four were farmers, allegedly knocked down by a vehicle carrying BJP workers. Infuriated farmers then allegedly lynched some people in the vehicles. The other dead included two BJP workers and their driver. --PTI
"PM Modi called the protesting farmers 'Andolanjivi' & terrorists. Yogi Ji called them hooligans & tried to threaten them. The same minister (Ajay Kumar Mishra) said that he would make the protesting farmers fall in line within 2 minutes," Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said
Priyanka Gandhi says PM Modi can tour the whole world but can't meet farmers to address their issues.
"Have you seen in any country that a person who mowed down six people is being 'invited' by police to talk to them," Priyanka Gandhi says at Kisan Nyay rally.
Priyanka Gandhi addresses Kisan Nyay rally
Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel addresses Kisan Nyay rally in Varanasi. Calling UP CM a "coward", he says, "The UP CM was so scared of Priyanka Gandhi that she was not allowed to reach Lakhimpur. Instead, she was arrested and kept in custody for 4 days. I did not know he was such a coward."
"Even I was not allowed to go out of Lucknow airport," he said at the rally.
BJP MP Varun Gandhi Sunday said there was an “attempt to turn Lakhimpur Kheri into a Hindu vs Sikh battle.” Calling it “immoral” and “dangerous,” Gandhi asked parties to “not put petty political gains above national unity.”
“An attempt to turn #LakhimpurKheri into a Hindu vs Sikh battle is being made. Not only is this an immoral & false narrative. It is dangerous to create these fault lines & reopen wounds that have taken a generation to heal. We must not put petty political gains above national unity,” Gandhi, MP from Pilibhit tweeted on Sunday. Read More
Priyanka Gandhi has reached the Varanasi airport and is scheduled to address the Congress's 'Kisan Nyay' rally shortly.
Congress seeks appointment with President Ram Nath Kovind for a 7-member party delegation led by Rahul Gandhi to present a detailed memorandum of facts on the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.
MP Varun Gandhi, who was recently excluded from the BJP’s national executive, has said that an attempt is being made to turn the Lakhimpur Kheri incident into a Hindu vs Sikh battle. "Not only is this an immoral & false narrative, it is dangerous to create these fault-lines & reopen wounds that have taken a generation to heal. We must not put petty political gains above national unity(sic)," he tweeted.
Uttar Pradesh Police to file a plea before a court in Lakhimpur Kheri on Monday seeking custody of Ashish Mishra in the violence that claimed the lives of 8 people earlier this month.
A day after he sat on a hunger strike and took a vow of silence, PPCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu ended his fast on Saturday after accused in Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, Ashish Mishra, turned up for police questioning.
Sidhu, who started his fast at slain journalist Raman Kashyap’s house in Lakhimpur Kheri on Friday evening, had stayed the night at his house. He ended his fast after accepting a glass of milk from a girl. After breaking his vow of silence, he told the media that “truth has triumphed”. Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal called Sidhu’s fast a drama and added that he wanted to request the PPCc president that he should stop doing such things. Read More
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, and party MP Deepender Singh Hooda leave from Delhi airport for Varanasi to address the Kisan Nyay rally.
The Prime Minister recently revealed, in one of his rare interviews, that he missed critics. ‘But, unfortunately, the number of critics is very few,’ he said. ‘Mostly, people only level allegations, the people who play games about perception are more in number.’ It is with these words in mind that I make clear before going any further that I consider myself an honest critic. But, what I want to begin with is neither an allegation or criticism but a simple statement of facts. On a narrow, dirt road in Lakhimpur Kheri last week, a cavalcade of SUVs, one of them at least belonging to the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Ajay Kumar Mishra, drove at high speed into a group of protesting farmers, and when they were mowed down, proceeded to drive over their bodies. (Read Tavleen Singh's Opinion)
Congress also asked chiefs of its state units to observe maun vrat (vow of silence) between 10 am and 1 pm on Monday outside Raj Bhavans or central government offices, demanding immediate sacking of Mos Home Ajay Misra and arrest of all culprits in the Lakhimpur Kheri case.
Ahead of the rally in Varanasi, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted, “The aggrieved farmer families have only one demand: justice to them. It is impossible to get justice without the dismissal of the minister and the arrest of the accused of murder. What message does the government want to convey by sending an invitation to the accused of murder to appear?” She tweeted in Hindi, “Sarkar doshiyon ko sanrakshan nahi, saja de. (The government should not protect the guilty but should punish them).
With the Lakhimpur Kheri case turning into a political hot button issue ahead of the UP elections next year, the spotlight is on Ajay Kumar Mishra, the Union MoS whose son now faces a murder case. The Sunday Express traces Mishra’s journey — from the ‘Teni Maharaj’ who settled village disputes to the two-time MP who found a spot in the Union Cabinet as the sole Brahmin face from UP. (Read Asad Rehman's report)
The words ring loud and clear, lofty, almost dramatic: We, The People of India……. Give to Ourselves This Constitution. And we gave to ourselves the Constitution in order to secure to all, among other objectives, Liberty and Fraternity.
The Preamble to the Constitution of India must be made compulsory reading for every Officer, Minister, Chief Minister and Prime Minister. Each one took an oath under the Constitution. His/her first obligation must be to secure Liberty and promote Fraternity. To enable them to do so, we created a Parliament (for India) and a Legislature (for each state). We tasked the state Legislature to make laws on ‘public order’ and ‘police’ and tasked both Parliament and the Legislature to make laws on ‘criminal law’, criminal procedure’ and ‘preventive detention’. (Read P Chidambaram's Opinion)
Facing murder charges over the Lakhimpur incident, Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra, was arrested late Saturday night, after questioning that lasted the entire day. Having skipped the first summons issued to him, Ashish, 40, appeared before the SIT investigating the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, that had left eight dead, at 10.30 am on Saturday — just in time for the second notice. He arrived with his lawyers and BJP MLA from Lakhimpur (Sadar) seat Yogesh Verma (the latter left soon after), at the Crime Branch office in the district, amid heavy police deployment.
Around 11 pm at night, DIG Upendra Kumar Agrawal, heading the SIT, told reporters: “We found that he was not cooperating. He was not telling certain things. On ground of non-cooperation and evasive replies, we are taking Ashish into custody. He will be produced in court tomorrow. We will do sustained custodial interrogation.”