Kejriwal again questions Centre over Lakhimpur Kheri incident
Darpan News Desk IANS, 26 Nov, 2021 11:59 AM
New Delhi, Nov 26 (IANS) Had the Supreme Court not intervened, the perpetrators of Lakhmipur Kheri violence would not have even been arrested, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said during the special single-day Assembly session on Friday.
"The farmers of the country had to face such difficult times at the hands of their own elected government after the latter passed the three farm laws without their consent. Those in power used every measure to suppress the protesting farmers. They hurled abuses at them, called them anti-national, Khalistani, and agenst of Pakistan and China.
"They did not even spare our farmers' lives, and an SUV even ran over the protesting farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri. If not for the Supreme Court, the perpetrators of the heinous crime would not have arrested till now," Kejriwal said on the floor of the House.
"I still do not understand what is the reason behind the Centre shielding those who crushed the farmers under their car," he added.
Congratulating the farmers and referring to the 1907 Punjab unrest, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said, "This is probably the longest struggle against injustice that has took place in the history of humanity. Before 2020, Indian farmers had led a similar struggle against the then British government. It continued for eight months, while the present protest against one's own government has surpassed even that duration and is continued for 12 months now. I want to congratulate the farmers for peacefully winning this battle. It is a victory of democracy."
He further congratulated the farmers of Punjab for leading the protest, and the women for standing alongside the men in all circumstances.
Drawing parallel to the 2011 anti-corruption movement that paved way for his entry into politics, Kejriwal said, "When we received information that farmers from Punjab and Haryana are marching towards Delhi, the Centre wanted us to turn the stadia into jails, but we did not listen to them as we knew that if the protest was allowed inside the stadis, it will die down. Delhi government did its best to help the farmers in every possible way, be it in terms of arrangements or supporting them."
Taking a dig at BJP, Kejriwal said, "Since the day the BJP came to power, it has tried to stifle everyone. Even their party members agree with us on this. They too are pained by all this. However, they have been ordered from above that the level of post they will be assigned will depend on how louder they can shout."
"BJP is a such a shameless party that when the Centre introduced the three farm laws in the Parliament, it called it a 'masterstroke'. And when they announced to repeal them, even then they hailed the move as 'masterstroke'," he added.
The Deputy Chief Minister, who is also holding the Health portfolio, said 2.16 lakh people got vaccinated on Tuesday. Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Hoshiarpur and Patiala were the top five districts in immunisation.
The meeting lasted over half an hour and it is understood that Mishra might have made his position clear in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. Earlier, he went to his office in the North Block and stayed there for a while.
NCP national spokesperson and Maharashtra Minorities Affairs Minister Nawab Malik slammed the "fraud" NCB operations,in which BJP leader Manish Bhanushali and "private detective" Kiran P. Gosavi were seen dragging out the accused. including superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan and Arbaaz Merchant.
In a statement here, he said the worst has started coming true as the Taliban have started showing their true colours by way of complete intolerance towards the minorities leading to their intimidation and destruction of their religious places.
Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other leaders met the family of deceased farmer Lovepreet at the Chaukhada farm in Palia at around 9 p.m. on Wednesday. They later met the family of journalist Raman Kashyap, who was also killed in violence.
9 persons, including four farmers, were killed in the violence that had erupted during a farmers' protest in Lakhimpur Kheri. A bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and comprising justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli will hear the matter on Thursday. The matter has been listed as 'violence in Lakhimpur Kheri (UP) leading to loss of life'.
