Tag: Union Minister Ajay Mishra

  • LS polls: Farmers of Lakhimpur Kheri await justice

    Amid the rising political heat, people in Tikunia area of Lakhimpur Kheri still remember the unforgettable incident that shook the country three years ago.

    Eight people including a journalist and four farmers were killed when violence broke out after an SUV ran over a group of protesting farmers in October of 2021.

    “I pass by this place everyday. We have tried a lot to forget what happened here but every time we approach this place, the images of that day flash before our eyes,” said Manjeet Singh, a resident of Tikunia pointing towards the ground where the farmers held the protest against the three controversial farm laws, which have been scrapped now. This ground lies on one side of the narrow road leading towards Tikunia, a small town located on the northern most corner of Lakhimpur Kheri district, over 215 km away from state capital Lucknow. AllUttar PradeshMaharashtraTamil NaduWest BengalBiharKarnatakaAndhra PradeshTelanganaKeralaMadhya PradeshRajasthanDelhiOther States”The ground is a constant reminder of how nothing happens to a person with political influence,” said Satwant Singh, another Tikunia resident who participated in the protest and was a witness to the incidents. Ashish Mishra ‘Monu’, the son of Union minister Ajay Mishra ‘Teni’, was made an accused in the case. Ashish Mishra was arrested after the incidents but is currently out on bail. “Ajay Mishra ‘Teni’ was awarded by the BJP for the incident. The party did nothing to him and has now given him a ticket for the Lok Sabha polls,” said Rajdeep Singh, another resident who was injured in the incident. The BJP has renominated Ajay Mishra from the Lakhimpur Kheri seat. The Samajwadi Party (SP) has fielded Utkarsh Verma and the BSP Anshay Kalra. Voting will be held on May 13.

    The 2021 incident occurred in Tikunia but almost all the victims were from different places in the district.

    Mandeep Singh, the son of an elderly farmer Nacchatar Singh who was killed after being run over by the SUV, said, “We were shown how important we are in the incident. Nobody from the government has till date asked about us. We want this to change, we want to see the accused behind bars.”

    Singh declined to comment on the ongoing elections but said he wants to see a change. “Like every other farmer and local we want to see a change.”

    Surendra Singh, a relative of another victim Lovepreet Singh and also a member of farmers union, said, “This was an attack on farmers who produce grains to feed the entire country. We will continue to fight for justice.”

    The Bhartiya Kisan Union (Tikait) unit in Lakhimpur Kheri had objected to the candidature of Ajay Mishra.

    “This is nothing but disrespect to those killed in Tikunia and all farmers. The farmers will respond to this by their votes,” said Surinder Singh Virk, an office bearer of the farmers union.

    Though farmers, especially from the Sikh community in Tikunia and nearby areas, express anger over the incident, the same emotion is not reflected by people of other communities, particularly outside Tikunia.

    “What happened in Tikunia was wrong, nobody will support such an act but we need to come together and move ahead for development of Lakhimpur,” said Prabhat Singh, a former village head in Palia area of the district.

    SP president Akhilesh Yadav has talked about the episode in his public meeting held here but his party candidate Utkarsh Verma has made only passing reference in his public meetings.

    BSP’s Kalra, who himself comes from the Sikh community, has raised the issue in his public meetings in Palia and Nighasan area.

  • MoS Ajay Mishra calls for stepping up use of Hindi in government work

    By PTI

    VARANASI: Ahead of an all-India conference on official language being held here on Saturday, Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra Teni said more and more government work should be done in Hindi.

    He said that taking inspiration from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and under the leadership of Amit Shah, the Union Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation, members from other departments will also attend the Akhil Bharatiya Rajbhasha Sammelan (All India Official Language Conference).

    “This conference is an attempt to remind everyone that we should keep our constitutional obligation paramount and do more and more government work in Hindi,” Mishra told reporters.

    Mishra said that Hindi was recognised as the link language in the freedom movement.

    “Hindi became the main language of the freedom movement to unite the whole country and give impetus to the movement. After the country got independence, the constituent assembly unanimously declared it the official language of India on September 14, 1949. It was proposed by famous scholar Gopalswamy Iyengar,” he said.

    Mishra recently came to the limelight after the Lakhimpur Kheri violence on October 3 in which eight people, including four farmers, were killed.

    Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra and his accomplice are in jail in the case.

    Ashish Mishra and his father have denied the allegation.

    Opposition Samajwadi Party and Congress are demanding termination of Ajay Mishra after the incident, saying an unbiased probe was impossible till he remains a minister.

  • Lakhimpur Kheri violence: Two more held for lynching, police say 

    By PTI

    LAKHIMPUR KHERI: The UP police SIT investigating the Lakhimpur Kheri violence leading to the death of eight people, including four farmers, on Wednesday, November 3, 2021, arrested two more men for their alleged roles in killing four others.

    Identified as Bichaila Farm resident Ranjit Singh and Naurangabad Farm resident Avtar Singh alias Nikku, the two were arrested for allegedly lynching two BJP workers, a driver and a local journalist after the death of four farmers, allegedly run over by an SUV in the BJP supporters’ convoy on October 3.

    The two were arrested under a second FIR registered in the Tikonia police station of the district over the lynching.

    Numbering 220/2021, the second FIR was registered under sections 147, 323, 324, 336 and 302 of IPC, the district Crime Branch said in a press release.

    A total of four persons have been arrested so far under the second FIR filed in Tikonia Kotwali police station by one Sumit Jaiswal.

    Earlier, Vichitra Singh and Gurvinder Singh had been arrested and sent to jail in this case, the press release said.

    Senior Public Prosecutor SP Yadav said the two accused Ranjit Singh and Avtar Singh were produced before the competent court, which sent them to judicial custody.

    Meanwhile, another court, headed by District and Sessions Judge Mukesh Mishra, deferred till November 15 the hearing on the bail applications of Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish and two others in the case.

    Ashish Mishra alias Monu, Ashish Pandey and Lavkush Rana are among the 13 accused arrested in connection with the FIR filed in the death of four farmers in Tikonia.

    A total of eight people were killed in the October 3 violence which took place during a protest over Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya visit to Lakhimpur Kheri.