The Indian Panorama

Tag: Ashish Mishra

  • Nirmala Sitharaman condemns Lakhimpur Kheri violence

    Nirmala Sitharaman condemns Lakhimpur Kheri violence

    BOSTON (TIP): Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was asked why there is no word on this from the Prime Minister, senior Ministers and why there is a “defensive reaction” when somebody asks questions about such things. The Lakhimpur Kheri violence, in which four farmers were killed, is “absolutely condemnable,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said, emphasizing that there are issues of such nature happening in other parts of India equally which should be raised “when they happen and not when it suits others” because there is a BJP government in Uttar Pradesh.

    Ms. Sitharaman, who is on an official visit to the U.S., was responding to a question during a conversation at Harvard Kennedy School on October 12 about the killing of four farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri and the arrest of Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra.

    She was asked why there is no word on this from the Prime Minister, senior Ministers and why there is a “defensive reaction” when somebody asks questions about such things.

    “No, absolutely not… It’s nice of you to have picked up that one incident which is absolutely condemnable, every one of us say that. Equally there are instances happening elsewhere, is my concern.

    “India has issues of such nature happening in very many different parts of the country equally. I would like you, and many others, including Dr. Amartya Sen, who all know India, to raise it at every time when it happens, not just raise it when it suits us because it’s a State where BJP is in power, one of my Cabinet colleague’s son is in probably trouble, and also assume that it’s actually them who did it and not anybody else. Due course of justice will also have a complete inquiry process to establish it,” she said.

    “And it’s not being defensive about my party or my Prime Minister. It’s being defensive about India. I will talk for India; I will talk for justice for the poor. I will not be mocked at. And if it is mocking, I will be defensive to stand up and say ‘Sorry, let’s talk on facts’. That’s my answer for you,” she said.

    Mr. Ashish Mishra was named in an FIR following allegations that he was in one of the vehicles that mowed down four farmers protesting over U.P. Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit on October 3.

    Farm laws

    To a question on the farmers’ protests, Ms. Sitharaman said that the three acts which the government brought in were discussed by the various parliamentary committees over a decade.

    She said all the three acts have been discussed variously by the State governments, by the Centre after the BJP came into power in 2014.

    “This has been in the making for a decade now. Every stakeholder has been consulted,” she said.

    “When the farm laws were brought in the Lok Sabha, there was an elaborate discussion and the agriculture minister gave his reply as well. It was only when it came to the Rajya Sabha, there was a lot of noise and disturbance,” she said.

    Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and several other States have been protesting on various borders of Delhi since November 26 last year, seeking repeal of three farm laws enacted in September.

    Dubbing these laws as “anti-farmer”, these farmers claim that the newly enacted legislations would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big corporations.

    Ms. Sitharaman said the protesters belong to one State and some parts of other States — “Punjab, Haryana and some parts of western Uttar Pradesh”. She said the government has been saying that it is willing to talk with the protesters and has been engaging with them.

    The government has asked pointedly what is that one aspect in any one of the three laws which have been passed to which the protesters object, she said.

    “We are willing to talk about it, tell us that one particular aspect in any one of the three laws. Till date, we have not had even one particular aspect which is being questioned. And therefore, the protesters are not sure on what score they are protesting, what is it that they are objecting.

    “Then there’s this issue about the minimum support price to be given to farmers,” she said, adding that the MSP are announced well in time and the farmers can decide whether they want to grow a crop or not and they can otherwise choose to grow something else. She said once the farmers choose to grow any of these, for which a minimum support price is announced and procurements are done, through direct benefit transfer using technology, money is deposited as a lump sum into their accounts. “The highest amount of procurement, the largest ever payment per farmer under the minimum support price which is declared has happened in the last seven years after Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi has come. Highest ever.

    “The number of farmers, the total quantum of money, total quantum of grain procured in each one of them — the highest as has happened season after season in the last seven years,” she said.

    Highlighting that there are recorded conversations “which you can see of farmers even from Punjab, even from Haryana”, she said farmers have got the entire amount into their account.

    “This is verifiable, not a claim which I’m making. You can go and check it out. Highest amount and the entire amount is given into the account directly the day after procurement is done. No staggering, no delaying,” she said.

    “So we have not been told what it is that they’re protesting against as yet and the Minister is willing to talk even today.”

    (Source: PTI)

  • A probe after prodding: On Lakhimpur Kheri violence

    U.P. police must do a credible probe to inspire public confidence in farmers’ killing case

    The arrest of Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister of State for Home, Ajay Mishra, appears to be a course of action impelled mainly by the intervention of the Supreme Court, which voiced its dissatisfaction with the way the Uttar Pradesh police were handling the killing of four farmers and four others during a protest. By taking cognizance of the incidents that took place during a farmers’ protest at Tikonia in Lakhimpur-Kheri district, the Court may have helped infuse some much-needed impetus to the investigation. The Bench gave enough time until its next hearing on October 20 to the police to pursue the probe diligently, but not without thinking aloud on whether any other agency ought to take it over and asking the State police chief to preserve the evidence. The arrest of the Minister’s son, coming after he had skipped an earlier summons and was questioned for long hours once he appeared, is largely in response to the Court’s criticism. The Bench, headed by the Chief Justice of India, N.V. Ramana, wondered how investigators in a murder case could merely issue summons to the prime suspect instead of taking steps to apprehend him. Skepticism about the intentions of the State police is not misplaced. It is not the first time that the initial response is one of hesitancy and obfuscation, but once an incident blows up enough to occasion judicial intervention, there is some action.

    What is known so far is that vehicles in the Minister’s convoy ploughed through a group of farmers, causing four deaths. Three others may have died in retaliatory violence by the infuriated mob, while Raman Kashyap, a television reporter, may also have been run over. Initial reports that the driver lost control after being hit by a hail of stones have been superseded by footage that seems to show the vehicle being driven into a group of unsuspecting people. The FIR says Ashish Mishra was in one of the cars, even though he claims to have been elsewhere. The role of the Union Minister should also be subjected to scrutiny, as some reports suggest he may have made a provocative speech earlier to the effect that the protesting farmers should either mend their ways or he would set them straight. The mention of a ‘conspiracy’ in the FIR gives scope to the police to examine this angle. It is regrettable that the Union government is noticeably silent, and there appears to be no effort to advise Mr. Ajay Mishra to step down until his and his son’s names are cleared. It is difficult to see how an impartial probe can go on as long as he is in office, and his party’s government in the State is seen to be soft on the accused. The onus is on the Uttar Pradesh police now to conduct a credible investigation, if the Court does not replace the present set of investigators.

    (The Hindu)

  • Lakhimpur Kheri violence: 2 arrested; SC seeks status report on accused

    Lakhimpur Kheri violence: 2 arrested; SC seeks status report on accused

    New Delhi (TIP): The Supreme Court on Thursday, October 7,  directed the UP Government to file a status report in 24 hours on the action taken by it, including the arrest of all accused named in the FIRs for murder, with regard to the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which eight persons, including four farmers, had been killed, even as two accused were arrested and Ashish Mishra, son of MoS Ajay Mishra, was summoned for questioning.

    However, Ashish Misra, who was summoned after being booked in the Lakhimpur Kheri case, has failed to appear before the authorities for questioning. A Bench led by CJI NV Ramana said the report should give details on the arrest of the accused in the murder cases, including that of a journalist.

    Terming the incident as “extremely unfortunate”, the Bench, also comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Hima Kohli, asked the UP Government to provide immediate medical treatment to the mother of deceased Lovepreet Singh. “Get her admitted to the nearest government hospital,” UP Additional Advocate-General Garima Prashad was told. “We direct the learned Additional Advocate-General to look into the matter personally and provide best medical treatment to the mother of the deceased in a reputed government medical college/hospital,” the Bench ordered.

    Prashad told the court an SIT was probing the matter and the state government had set up a commission of inquiry headed by Justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava (retd) of the Allahabad High Court. The Bench asked her to mention everything, including information regarding PILs on the issue pending in the Allahabad High Court, in the report to be filed by the state government and posted the case for further hearing on Friday. The case could not be taken up at the first call as advocates Shiv Kumar Tripathi and CS Panda, who wrote to the CJI on the Lakhimpur violence, failed to turn up for the hearing. However, they showed up at the second call. Tripathi, who could barely manage to address the Bench due to poor Internet connection, complained of violation of farmers’ human rights and said the matter should be investigated thoroughly.

    During the brief hearing, the CJI clarified that it was supposed to be a PIL on the basis of the letter written by the two advocates. “Doesn’t matter, we’ll hear it nonetheless,” he said. Later, the Bench directed the court’s Registry “to convert this suo motu writ petition into a PIL immediately.” Senior advocate Harshvir Pratap Sharma, who appeared for an intervenor, raised the issue of the death of journalist Raman Kashyap.

    Judicial panel set up

    UP Addl Advocate-General Garima Prashad said an SIT is probing the matter and the UP Govt has set up an inquiry commission headed by Justice PK Srivastava, who had retired from the Allahabad High Court.

    Why are you silent on Lakhimpur incident, Kapil Sibal asks PM Modi

    Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Friday, October 8, questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence over the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, saying just “one word of sympathy” was needed from him. In a tweet, Sibal said, “Lakhimpur Kheri Horror. Modi ji, Why are you silent? We need just one word of sympathy from you. That should not be difficult!”

  • Is Lakhimpur Kheri a watershed moment for the BJP in UP?

    Is Lakhimpur Kheri a watershed moment for the BJP in UP?

    By George Abraham

    What we are witnessing is a total breakdown of the law enforcement mechanism in the State of Uttar Pradesh. The government is yet to arrest Ashish Mishra, the son of the union minister, although an FIR was filed by police themselves while the political leaders who went to empathize with the bereaving families were either arrested or blocked from entering Lakhimpur. The U.P. government detained Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, a General Secretary of the All-India Congress Committee, for more than 24 hours before being arrested. It is indeed a clear violation of the rights of India’s citizens. Section 144 of the law allows restricting the movement of more than four people if there are valid reasons. However, the illegal detention and arrests point to authorities who lack any respect for the laws of the land or the constitutional rights of its citizens.

    The heinous and barbaric killings of four farmers protesting peacefully in Lakhimpur have again shown the world the slide towards anarchy and lawlessness in Uttar Pradesh, a state ruled by Yogi Adityanath, a hardcore Hindutva leader as its Chief Minister. The resultant revenge killings are also a blot on a democracybased on rule of law where people should not take the law into their own hands.

    As seen in video footage on social media, a speeding jeep accompanying other vehicles runs over the farmers from behind appears to be an intentional act to harm the victims. It is alleged that the son of India’s Minister of State for home affairs was involved in this incident, and there are reports of shots being fired during the melee. Angry farmers were then said to have killed the three occupants, BJP workers, of the vehicle that was set ablaze.

    What we are witnessing is a total breakdown of the law enforcement mechanism in the State of Uttar Pradesh. The government is yet to arrest Ashish Mishra, the son of the union minister, although an FIR was filed by police themselves while the political leaders who went to empathize with the bereaving families were either arrested or blocked from entering Lakhimpur. The U.P. government detained Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, a General Secretary of the All-India Congress Committee, for more than 24 hours before being arrested. It is indeed a clear violation of the rights of India’s citizens. Section 144 of the law allows restricting the movement of more than four people if there are valid reasons. However, the illegal detention and arrests point to authorities who lack any respect for the laws of the land or the constitutional rights of its citizens.

    In addition, the union minister of State Ajay Kumar Mishra continues to serve in the ministry at the pleasure of Prime Minister Modi despite his deep involvement with his son in this nefarious scheme to teach the protesting farmers a lesson.  A purported video of Union Minister of State for Home in which he is heard telling farmers that he would discipline them in two minutes appears to have upset the farmers before the violent incident. “Face me, it will take just two minutes to discipline you fellows,” the two-time BJP MP from Kheri is heard purportedly saying on social media.

    Ajay Kumar Mishra, member from Kheri Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Lower court acquitted Mr. Mishra in 2004 but the criminal appeal in a murder case is still pending before the Allahabad High Court. (Photo / loksabhaph.nic.in/Members)

    Incidentally, Ajay Kumar Mishra is no stranger to crime. Before he entered State-level electoral politics, Mr. Mishra was in the year 2000 accused of murdering a youth leader of the Samajwadi Party in Tikunia. A local sessions court acquitted him and three others in March 2004 in the murder case of Prabhat Gupta alias Raju.

    A criminal appeal filed by Prabhat Gupta’s brother Rajeev Gupta is pending before the Allahabad High Court, which had in March 2018 reserved the judgment in the appeal, but since it could not be delivered later that year, Gupta’s family prayed for it to be heard again. The last hearing in the case was on February 5, 2019.

    Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar also made a controversial remark recently that encouraged violence while speaking at a farmers’ event in the State. He called upon 1000 volunteers from different regions to pick up sticks and fight “furious farmers.” This has become a pattern of BJP governance where various leaders of their party often make highly provocative and reprehensible statements that result in violence and lives lost.  It is a shame that the Modi government that raises FIR against innocuous statements by ordinary citizens appears indifferent to eschewing their cadre’s own inflammatory comments.

    In addition, the internet is cut in the area to prevent people from communicating with each other. Now the government becomes the judge of what the people should listen to. In a democracy, these political leaders are supposed to serve the people. However, they have become the overlords now deciding and deciphering what is in our best interest, what news we should watch, and what messages we should read.

    There is no doubt that the Lakhimpur violence marked an escalation in continuing protests of the farm laws that the farmers say would affect their livelihoods. The government shows no urgency in resuming dialogue, although over 600 farmers lost their lives during this ten-month-old protest that some characterized as the longest and biggest in history.  It is a shame that a democratic government shows a total disregard to the aspirations of India’s farmers, and 85 percent of them are small and marginal.

    This ongoing pandemic has been devastating to the Indian economy.  However, the country averted mass starvation only because the government’s granaries (Food corporation of India) were overloaded, and the poor and downtrodden were the big beneficiaries of the generous food distribution. Now that the collection and storage under the current fam laws will be handed over to a bunch of crony capitalists, a future crisis may bring unintended but inevitable consequences for the people of India.

    Throughout history, voices of the people, the poor and the powerless, have been crushed under the wheels of the State, and their protests were being shut down. However, every time, it would only embolden the masses, and for the U.P. government under Yogi Adityanath, Lakhimpur Kheri may be a watershed moment to face an awakened voter in the not-so-distant future.

    (The author is a former Chief Technology Officer, the United Nations and Vice Chair of Indian Overseas Congress USA. He can be reached at gta777@gmail.com)