Political News: Congress submits memorandum to UP governor demanding arrest of accused in Lakhimpur Kheri violence

A group of Congress workers led by the party’s Uttar Pradesh unit president Ajay Kumar Lallu staged a protest outside the Raj Bhawan in Lucknow on Thursday, raising slogans against the state government over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which eight people, including four farmers, were killed. A party spokesperson said their request for an appoint with Governor Anandiben Patel to hand over a memorandum was initially not acceded to, prompting the workers to stage the demonstration.

Later, a five-member delegation which included Lallu, MLA Aradhana Mishra and MLC Deepak Singh was allowed to meet the Governor for handing over the memorandum, Congress spokesman Anshu Awasthi said.

Awasthi said the party put forth several demands in the memorandum, including dismissal of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Kumar Mishra, whose son has been booked for allegedly mowing down four farmers, and immediate arrest of all the guilty persons in the Lakhimpur case.

The memorandum also drew the attention of the Governor to the “illegal” detention of party general secretary Priyanaka Gandhi Vadra to stop her from going to meet the bereaved families and the manner in which former party president Rahul Gandhi was made to wait at the Lucknow airport for a long time on Wednesday when he had arrived here to visit Lakhimpur.

Eight people were killed Sunday as violence erupted during a farmers’ protest.

Four of the dead were farmers, allegedly knocked down by vehicles driven by BJP workers travelling to welcome Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to an event in the area.

The other four were two BJP workers, a driver of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra, and Raman Kashyap, a journalist working for a private TV channel.

While the first three were allegedly lynched by agitating farmers, the scribe, according to his father, died after being hit by a vehicle when he was covering news of farmers’ protest against Maurya’s visit to Mishra’s native place.

The UP Police has lodged a case against Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra’s son but no arrest has been made.