Farmers Movement Archive

After Tikait’s ‘warning’, MoS Mishra removed from Kheri sugar mills’ events

A day after Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said farmers will take their sugarcane meant for two Lakhimpur Kheri sugar mills to the office of the district magistrate if Union minister of state (MoS) Ajay Kumar Mishra Teni inaugurated the mills in UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri, the management of two cooperative sugar mills in Belrayan and Sampurna Nagar of Kheri district changed their crushing season opening programme on Tuesday.Mishra’ son Ashish Mishra is the prime accused in the October 3 Tikunia violence at Lakhimpur Kheri where eight people, including four farmers and a journalist, were killed. Ashish Mishra is currently in jail.In their revised programme issued on Tuesday, general manager/secretary of the two cooperative sugar units said, “Kheri district magistrate, who is also the administrator of the two sugar mills, will inaugurate the crushing season in Sarju Cooperative Sugar Mill in Belrayan at 9am on Wednesday and at 11am at Kisan Cooperative Sugar Mill in Sampurna Nagar in the presence of farmers and the shareholders.” Earlier, MoS for home Ajay Mishra was to inaugurate the crushing season at the two sugar units.Speaking at the Kisan Mahapanchayat convened by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of protesting farmer unions, in Lucknow on Monday, Tikait had also said, “The arrest of Ajay Mishra Teni is our important demand.”Meanwhile, some local BJP leaders close to MoS Ajay Kumar Mishra Teni said the union minister was already occupied in his pre-scheduled programmes out of district owing to which he was not available for the inauguration ceremony.

Hindustan Times

23-11-2021

Lucknow