Demanding the resignation of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Misra and UP DyCM Keshav Prasad Maurya over Lakhimpur violence, KPCC president DK Shivakumar lashed out at the BJP over the incident, here Monday.
Addressing a news conference, he condemned the police 'high-handedness' meted to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi who was detained on her way towards Lakhimpur.
"Those who promised to turn India into a 'Rama Rajya' has turned it into 'Ravana Rajya' today," he said, lashing out at BJP governments at the Centre and in UP.
This is not just the murder of four people. It is the murder of the entire agrarian community of the country. It is the murder of democracy, Shivakumar said.
"We are witnessing the death of democracy in the country. This is autocracy. Such incidents are proof that the country is ruled by a government with Hitler mentality," he said.
Which country are we in? Where is the law? Why was she (Priyanka) stopped from consoling the families of victims? What was her crime? UP CM should answer, he demanded.
BJP government, he said, was worse than the British. "At least they respected non-violent struggle. Today, the situation is so bad that voters have to revolt against an elected government."
Farmers, especially those from North India, have risen up against the government. "The arrest of Priyanka Gandhi is condemnable. The entire country and Congress party are behind her," he said.
Deadline for Mekedatu
Shivakumar set a months' deadline for the state government to start implementing the Mekdatu project. "If there is a double engine government in the state, why has the project not yet started?" he asked.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is acquainted with the law and has said that Tamil Nadu has no right to interfere with the project. However, the state government has not been able to start even the long-pending Mahadayi project due to a dispute with a small state such as Goa, he said.
He accused the government of thwarting a padayatra of farmers demanding the implementation of Mekedatu. If the works are not started in a month, Karnataka Congress will launch agitations across the state, he added.
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