Follow 'raj dharma' and sack Ajay Mishra: Congress to PM Modi

Congress leaders Sushil Kumar Shinde, AK Anthony, Pawan Khera, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Salman Khurshid. Credit: PTI Photo

The Congress on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow 'raj dharma' and sack Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra immediately to "help restore the glory of India and its democracy".

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said that the country and its democracy have suffered a dent after farmers were allegedly crushed under the SUV belonging to the union minister.

He said that it was only after Congress pressure that the government questioned the union minister's son Ashish Mishra, who is named as an accused in the FIR for allegedly running over his SUV over protesting farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri on Sunday.

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Four farmers reportedly died after the SUV ran over them and four others lost their lives in the violence post the incident.

Khera alleged that the might of Uttar Pradesh and the central governments only applies to the poor, the weak and the helpless and not on powerful people and that is the reason why the union minister's son has not yet been arrested.

He urged Prime Minister Modi to follow 'raj dharma', saying as chief minister he had ignored the advice of the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee after the Gujarat riots broke out in 2002.

Read | Lakhimpur case: MoS Ajay Mishra's son questioned by SIT

Khera also claimed Vajpayee as prime minister had written a letter to the chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh against Mishra seeking action. The Congress leader, however, did not elaborate what the matter was.

"The advice to follow raj dharma, the advice given by Atal Ji to follow raj dharma was rejected by two people, one of them is a prime minister of India and the other is the minister of state for home," he told reporters.

"If the prime minister has a sense of responsibility left towards protecting and upholding our democracy, he needs to sack the minister of state for home immediately. Only this way, we will be able to restore the lost glory of our democracy. He should follow 'raj dharma'.

"We demand to sack off this minister immediately, India's image, we are all very conscious of our country's image, India's image is taking a dip," Khera said.

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