The Congress on Thursday said that if BJP leader Varun Gandhi is honest about his fight for farmers, he should quit his party and take to the streets in support of the protesting peasants.
Congress leader Alka Lamba also said Varun Gandhi would be mistaken if he feels that he will be given a ministerial berth in the next cabinet expansion.
Several Punjab Congress leaders, including state ministers and MLAs, were allowed to head towardsLakhimpurKheri in Uttar Pradesh, hours after they were detained at a police station in Saharanpur.
Punjab Transport Minister Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said the Uttar Pradesh administration has allowed 20 to 25 Punjab MLAs and ministers to go toLakhimpurKheri.
Senior RSS functionary Indresh Kumar on Thursday condemned the Lakhimpur Kheri violence but lashed out at the opposition parties, accusing them of creating an "atmosphere of hatred and violence" in the country.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who arrived here on Thursday to meet the families of two farmers killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, said by allowing Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra to continue on the post, the Centre is giving the message that those in power can do anything.
A group of Congress workers led by the party's Uttar Pradesh unit president Ajay Kumar Lallu staged a protest outside the Raj Bhawan here on Thursday, raising slogans against the state government over theLakhimpurKheri violence in which eight people, including four farmers, were killed.
A party spokesperson said their request for an appointment with Governor Anandiben Patel to hand over a memorandum was initially not acceded to, prompting the workers to stage the demonstration.
PTI
Uttar Pradesh Police pastes notice outside the residence of Union Minister Ajay Kumar Mishra in Lakhimpur Kheri, asking his son Ashish Mishra to appear before it on Oct 8 in connection with the violence.
Congress may have outmanoeuvred other opposition parties in seizing upon the opportunity to showcaseitself as the messiah of the farmers following the killing of four farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri districthoping for a boost to its electoral fortunes in Uttar Pradesh.
Union Minister of State Ajay Mishra's son Ashish, who was accused of running over farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri, was stated to be 'untraceable' on Thursday.
Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu along with party workers & supporters were detained at Yamuna Nagar (Haryana)-Saharanpur (UP) border They were going to Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh
We are also summoning the main accused today. We will record his statement. Based on that, further evidence is being collected: Lucknow Range IG Laxmi Singh answering the question of Ashish Mishra's arrest
Two persons have been taken into custody and are being questioned in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. Police have recovered empty bullet shells at violence site: UP Govt sources
The Lakhimpur-Kheri incident, in which four protesting farmers were deliberately run over by an SUV, has shaken India to the bone. It is snow-balling into an adverse event for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments in Uttar Pradesh and the Centre. Its fallout could also destabilise the current leadership of the farmers' movement.
Congress leaders led by state party president Govind Singh Dotasra on Thursday assembled at Uncha Nagla area near the border with Uttar Pradesh in Bharatpur district to march to UP's violence-hit Lakhimpur Kheri.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday demanded a probe by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court or a high court into the Lakhimpur Kheri violence and said Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra, whose son is among those booked, should resign to ensure an impartial probe.
Priyanka Gandhi, who had on Wednesday met the families of three of the eight people killed in the violence, told reporters here, "In my view and that of the victims' families as well, the case should be probed by a sitting Supreme Court or high court judge, and not the retired judge." (PTI)
The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to file a status report by tomorrow with details of those accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, in which eight including four farmers were killed on October 3.
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Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday said Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra's son has not yet been arrested in theLakhimpurKheri violence case even though evidence pointed to his role in the incident.
"As fingers are raised towards MoS (Ajay Mishra) in the BJP government, the accused inLakhimpurcase are not yet sent to jail," Yadav, who is visitingLakhimpurto meet the aggrieved families, told reporters here outside his residence.
"Those named in the FIR should go to jail. Government should take immediate action and the matter should be probed by a sitting judge of the High Court. There are videos clips, statements of eyewitnesses, the statement (of minister) in which he is threatening. As he (accused Ashish Mishra) is the son of the MoS, action has note been taken yet," he said.
"Do you think farmers can get justice till he (father of accused) is MoS?" he asked. (PTI)
The CJI asked to gether admitted to the nearest medical facility immediately.
The Supreme Court begins hearing in the Lakhimpur violence case in while eight people, including four farmers, were killed on October 3.
The Uttar Pradesh government has constituted a one-member Commission to probe the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in which eight people were killed, a senior Home Department official said on Thursday.
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The Union minister needs to resign to ensure an unbiased investigation,Priyanka added.
On the other hand, the Congress governments of Punjab and Chhattisgarh are providing assistance to the families of the deceased farmers, said theparty.
That is the difference between the BJP and the Congress, it added.
"The video is crystal clear. Protestors cannot be silenced through murder. There has to be accountability for the innocent blood of farmers that has been spilled and justice must be delivered before a message of arrogance and cruelty enters the minds of every farmer", tweeted Varun Gandhi.
The killing of four farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri has given a new lifeline for the Opposition, especially the Congress, ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections early next year with top leaders making a beeline to the families of victims, as the ruling BJP scrambled for a fire-fight to tackle any possible electoral rumblings.
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The farmers’ agitation, which has gone on for 11 months, has seen major violence for the first time in UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri, after the dubiously stage-managed disorder on the Republic Day and occasional clashes with the police, one of which saw the Haryana police unleashing a brutal lathi-charge on them.