Guwahati: Hundreds of farmers launched a three-day protest on Thursday calling for the dismissal of Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni among others in Lakhimpur Kheri of Uttar Pradesh.
The four agriculturalists who were imprisoned in connection with the unrest in October of last year are also being demanded to be released by the farmers participating in the dharna at Mandi Ground in Lakhimpur Kheri under the auspices of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella organisation of farm unions.
Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra is one of the defendants in the case brought following the violence that occurred in the district’s Tikonia area during the demonstration against the now-repealed farm rules. On October 3, 2021, a convoy of vehicles, one of which was allegedly driven by Ajay Mishra, ran over up to eight individuals, four of whom were farmers. Two BJP members, the driver of one of the cars, a journalist, and other people perished in the ensuing conflict.
“The Lakhimpur Kheri dharna has started. To participate, farmers from various regions of the state and nation have come to Lakhimpur Kheri. According to The Indian Express, BKU (Tikait) district president Dilbagh Singh had submitted an application to the state government asking for permission to hold the dharna. “Our leader Rakesh Tikait will be arriving at the place soon,” Singh added.
Rakesh Tikait was a significant figure in the 13-month farmers’ strike last year against the three-agriculture legislation of the Center.
The majority of the farmers that arrived in Lakhimpur Kheri, according to sources, are from Punjab and Haryana. Farmers from those two states run the majority of the food stalls at the protest site, they added.
Farmers allegedly stated that the reason they are staging the dharna is because, despite their demands, the government has not yet fired Ajay Mishra. In addition, the police detained four of them despite telling them that no farmers would be targeted in the Tikonia case. A farm leader demanded the release of the four farmers, saying that they had acted in self-defense because their attackers had come to kill them.