Farmers on 75-hour protest in UP's Lakhimpur Kheri
Darpan News Desk IANS, 18 Aug, 2022 10:43 AM
Lakhimpur Kheri (Uttar Pradesh), Aug 18 (IANS) The Bhartiya Kisan Union-Tikait (BKU-Tikait) and several other constituents of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella organisation of farmers, will hold a 75-hour sit-in at Rajapur Krishi-Utpadan Mandi Samiti in Lakhimpur Kheri from Thursday to press their pending demands.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha will hold the protest from August 18 to 20 to seek "justice" in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case.
Eight people, including four farmers, were killed in Lakhimpur Kheri during the violence that erupted in the Tikunia area of the district on October 3 last year.
Farmers are also demanding the withdrawal of cases registered against them during the stir against the Centre's now-withdrawn farm laws, compensation to families of farmers who died during the year-long protest and legal guarantee for the minimum support price of crops.
"The 75-hour dharna has been organised to press for their pending demands," said Dilbagh Singh, BKU-Tikait district president.
Bhudev Sharma, national organisation secretary of BKU-Tikait, said the farmers would demand dismissal of Union minister of state for home Ajay Kumar Mishra 'Teni' in connection with Tikunia violence of October 3, 2021, in which his son Ashish Mishra is the key accused.
He added their demands also included withdrawal of cases against the four farmers, who are in jail in connection with their alleged involvement in the Tikunia violence case.
Meanwhile, farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand and various other parts of Uttar Pradesh have started arriving in Lakhimpur to participate in the demonstration.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made in view of the farmers' agitation.
Apart from BKU national president Naresh Tikait and national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait, Darshan Singh Pal, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, Yogendra Yadav and other prominent leaders of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha will also take part in the sit-in.
Mann, 48, divorced his first wife Inderpreet Kaur in 2015. He has two children from that marriage -- daughter Seerat Kaur Mann (21) and son Dilshan Singh Mann (17), who attended Mann's swearing-in ceremony on March 16. The Chief Minister made a surprise wedding announcement a day earlier. It is believed to be an arranged marriage.
Arora, who has been elected for the second consecutive time as the MLA from Sunam, expressed gratitude towards the party national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and assured that he would discharge the responsibility assigned to him with honesty and dedication.
The motive behind the murder was not yet clear, according to the police. Police said, the man went to a local market for shopping along with his family. He was shot dead when he was on his way back home.
In his previous marriage to Inderpreet Kaur, which ended in a divorce in 2016, Mann has two children -- son Dilshan and daughter Seerat -- who are currently staying in the US with their mother. Both children had attended Mann's swearing-in ceremony at Khatkar Kalan on March 16.
A spokesman for the Chief Minister's office said all domestic consumers in the state would be eligible to get zero bills if their consumption is up to 600 units in every billing cycle. This will give a big reprieve to the domestic consumers who have to hitherto shell out huge money every month in the form of power tariff.
On receiving information about the incident, SP City Dinesh Kumar Singh, along with police force, reached the spot. The injured youths were sent to the hospital for treatment and the matter is being investigated.
