In the wake of conflicting reactions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s declaration on the repeal of three contentious agricultural laws, BJP MP Varun Gandhi, who had previously criticised the regulations, has remarked that if the decision had been made earlier, more “innocent lives” of farmers may have been saved. The BJP’s MP from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh wrote to Modi on Saturday, requesting Rs 1 crore in compensation for such families, the withdrawal of “politically driven bogus FIRs” against the demonstrators, and the legalisation of MSP (Minimum Support Price).
Gandhi has also requested that Prime Minister Narendra Modi take “severe action” against Union Minister Ajay Kumar Mishra, whose son Ashish Mishra is being held in connection with the October 3 event in Lakhimpur Kheri. Later, Ashish Mishra was apprehended. Gandhi is the first BJP politician to publicly demand that the union minister be held accountable for the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri.
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Many prominent leaders had made “provocative comments and the adversarial attitude produced around the movement, that on October 3, five of our farmer brothers were crushed to death by cars in Lakhimpur Kheri,” Gandhi said in the letter. Gandhi also stated that the minimum support price (MSP) for crops should be legally obligatory.
“Constitutional dialogue and empathy are the lifeblood of democracy.” Farmers want you to respond to their concerns in a timely and respectful manner. “I think that by embracing the aspirations of the farmers in accordance with our nation’s democratic and constitutional norms, your esteem would grow in the country,” Gandhi stated.
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Gandhi had already written to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, requesting that a murder case be filed against those responsible for the deaths of farmers in the Lakhimpur Kheri riots. He also demanded compensation and help for farmers, as well as a warning from the BJP not to associate the farmers to Khalistani groups.
