Farmers Movement Archive

Lakhimpur Kheri violence: BJP govt akin to Hitler & British regimes, says Akhilesh Yadav

LUCKNOW: For the second time within a year, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and thousands of his party workers hit the road — this time to reach Lakhimpur Kheri — till he was arrested for violating prohibitory orders. He was in police custody for four hours before he was released. Akhilesh described the police action in Lakhimpur as inhumane and worse than what the British did to protestors in the pre-Independence era. He equated the BJP government with German dictator Hitler’s regime. Read more stories from Lakhimpur Kheri On December 7 last year, Akhilesh had hit the road in solidarity with the farmers’ protest against the three farm laws. He was arrested and detained for several hours before he was released. On Monday, with heavy bandobast in place, authorities had set up a four-layer security cordon around Akhilesh Yadav’s Vikramaditya Marg residence. The third layer included steel barricades and trucks parked to obstruct any movement of vehicles outside Akhilesh’s residence. But defying the decree, SP chief stepped out of his home in a fleet. When stopped by the police, he got off his vehicle and staged a sit-in accompanied by senior party leader Ram Gopal Yadav. While Akhikesh condemned the BJP’s handling of the situation in Lakhimpur and demanded removal of MoS Home, arrest of his son for ‘murder’ of four farmers and Rs 2 crore ex gratia to the kin of each of the farmers killed, Ram Gopal sought CM Yogi Adityanath’s resignation for what he described as BJP orchestrated ‘bloodbath’ in Lakhimpur. “The ruthlessness with which the state government is trying to crush the farmers’ agitation is akin to how similar protests by Indians were handled by the British. The Union home minister had first threatened the farmers and thereafter his son unleashed a reign of terror by knocking off farmers protesting peacefully,” Akhilesh said. He went on to state that the manner in which the government is silencing the voice being raised by the oppressed, it reminds one of how Hitler handled resistance under his dictatorship. During the six-hour long high voltage drama which started around 8am with SP workers gathering in large numbers outside the party president’s house following rumours that he has been put under house arrest, SP workers clashed with cops on several occasions but timely intervention of Akhilesh helped contain the situation. A police jeep parked outside the Gautam Palli police station was torched. Akhilesh accused the police of setting the vehicle on fire to exert pressure on the SP workers who, he claimed, were ‘protesting peacefully’. Akhilesh and Ram Gopal along with party workers were arrested and taken to Eco Garden where they were detained for four hours.

The Times of India

2021-10-05

Lucknow