New Delhi, Oct 6 (UNI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said he, along with two chief ministers of the Congress, will attempt to go to Lakhimpur again, and slammed the government for systematically suppressing farmers.
At a press conference at the Congress headquarters here, the former Congress president also slammed the government for protecting the Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra and his son Ashish Mishra.
"Government is attacking farmers. They are being crushed under a jeep, they are being murdered... The person being talked about here is BJP's Home Minister and his son, there is no action against them," he said.
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel will be accompanying Rahul Gandhi. An order was issued stopping Baghel and Channi from entering Uttar Pradesh. Baghel also landed at the Lucknow airport on Tuesday, but was not allowed to enter the city.
Rahul Gandhi said he, along with the two chief ministers, will attempt to go to Lucknow, and Lakhimpur from there. He also said they were only three people, so restrictions of section 144 should not apply on them.
"India used to be a democracy, it is now a dictatorship. Opposition leaders are not being allowed to go to Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister (Bhupesh Baghel) went to Lucknow alone and yet he was stopped on account of section 144," Rahul Gandhi said.
Asked why the Opposition leaders wanted to visit Lakhimpur, he said it was to give hope to the family and to create pressure on the government.
"It is the job of the Opposition to create pressure... If we had not created pressure in the Hathras incident, the rapists would have escaped," he said.
"When we meet the families of the victims, we are giving them confidence that you cannot be run over by a criminal who calls himself home minister's son and then nothing happens. We are not going to allow that, we are giving them hope. today the families do not have hope, farmers don't have hope," he said.
The Congress leader also slammed the government for obstructing democratic processes.
"We are trying to tell the government, let the democratic processes work. It is a safety valve, if you shut the safety valve other problems will come. We are pushing for maintaining the democratic process," he said.
Asked about Priyanka Gandhi being manhandled by police in Sitapur of Uttar Pradesh, he said, "Whether it is Priyanka or me, manhandling does not affect us, this is an issue of farmers. Even if you kill us it will not make a difference, that is the training our family has given us".
Four farmers were crushed to death by the cars belonging to the convoy of Ajay Mishra, after a protest against his visit to Lakhimpur was held by farmers on Sunday. Farmer groups have alleged Ajay Mishra's son Ashish was in the car that ran over farmers, and an FIR has been registered against him.
The FIR also named Ajay Mishra for delivering a speech against the farmers.
Four people who were part of the convoy were also allegedly lynched by angry farmers, and two cars were set on fire.
The Minister has said his son was not present at the spot, and Ashish Mishra has also made the same claim.
Priyanka Gandhi, who started from Lucknow on Sunday midnight to meet the families of the victims in Lakhmipur, was arrested by police in Sitapur early on Monday and has been under arrest there since then.
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