Cong meets Prez, calls for Mishra’s dismissal
NEW DELHI: A Congress delegation, including Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday called on President Ram Nath Kovind to demand the immediate dismissal of Union minister of state for home affairs, Ajay Mishra Teni, and ask for an independent judicial investigation by sitting judges of the Supreme Court or high court into the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri earlier this month.
Gandhi said after the meeting with Kovind that when he went to meet the families of the victims last week, they had two principal demands.
“The family members told us that they wanted two things. First, they want justice. They want the murderer to be punished. They also said, the father of the person who has committed the murder is the (junior) home minister, so, as long as a person is a minister, a proper investigation and justice can’t be achieved,” the Congress leader said.
Eight people died after violence erupted after a car mowed down farmers protesting in Lakhimpur Kheri. So far, police have arrested six people--ashish Mishra, his alleged accomplices Luv Kush and Ashish Pandey, former Union minister, late Akhilesh Das’s nephew, Ankit Das, his gunner Latif alias Kale and his driver Shekhar Bharti -- in connection with the case.
The Congress also demanded an “independent judicial investigation by a com
mission comprising of two sitting judges of the Supreme Court of India or the high court”, and maintained that such an investigation was necessary. “Ajay Mishra Teni in a public function openly threatened the agitating farmers and even boasted about his dubious antecedents. How can justice be done when the original provocation came from Union MOS Home Affairs himself?” the memorandum to the President said.
The seven-member delegation also included general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, and senior party leaders KC Venugopal, AK Antony and Ghulam Nabi Azad.
They described the Lakhimpur
incident as “one of the most gruesome and premeditated acts of bone-chilling murder ever seen and caught on camera” the memorandum said.
They also alleged that UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath was making “conciliatory statements towards him (the Union minister), [which] suggests this situation is unlikely to change without intervention” added the memorandum.
“Mishra’s role is also yet to be investigated and the same is unlikely while he continues in office. Furthermore, which police official would dare to fairly investigate the son of Union MOS Home Affairs with the father occupying a position of such high influence and who enjoys continued endorsements from both the central and the state governments.” the memorandum said.