Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said that the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in Uttar Pradesh reminded him of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, reported the Hindustan Times.
The massacre took place on April 13, 1919 when British General Reginald Dyer ordered his troops to fire at a large crowd in Jallianwala Bagh in Punjab’s Amritsar city. The civilians had gathered at the site to protests against the arrest of two nationalist leaders.
In the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, which took place in October during a protest against the three farm laws, eight people had died after they were mowed down by a car. Farmer bodies had alleged that the vehicle belonged to Ashish Mishra, the son of Union minister Ajay Mishra.
Ashish Mishra was arrested on October 9 in connection with the case but was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court on February 10.
Addressing a rally in Lakhimpur on Saturday, Yadav said that if his party came to power, it would ensure action against those who had “shielded the perpetrators” of the violence.
“Those who got bail in the case will lose their deposits in the court of people during voting,” Yadav said, referring to Mishra, reported PTI. “This was the incident which never happened in India, nor in the world where a minister’s son had mowed down farmers.”
The former chief minister described the now-repealed farm regulations as “black laws”. He added that “the brave farmers forced the government” to withdraw the Act.
Yadav claimed that the government repealed the farm laws only for votes and it could bring back the law any time.
“Farmers, youth, Dalits and the poor have been looted by this government, diesel and petrol have become expensive, cooking gas has become expensive, education system has deteriorated, business and work has been snatched,” the Samajwadi Party chief said.
Commenting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cancelled rally in Lakhimpur on Saturday, Yadav said: “Heard that after Bijnor, [Modi’s] chopper failed to land in Lakhimpur.”
He said if this was true, it meant that the “weather in UP has become worse for BJP”.
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