Lakhimpur Kheri Violence: Samyukta Kisan Morcha has announced a nation-wide rail roko program.New Delhi: The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) has called for a six-hour-long nationwide ”Rail roko” agitation today demanding the removal of Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni from the Union Cabinet over the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, in which his son Ashish Mishra Teni is an accused.A statement issued by the umbrella body of farmers’ unions on Sunday read, “To press for its demand for Ajay Mishra’s dismissal and arrest, so that justice can be secured in Lakhimpur Kheri violence, SKM has announced a nation-wide rail roko program on October 18.””SKM put out a call to its constituents to stop rail traffic for six hours on October 18, between 10 am and 4 pm. SKM asked for this action to be taken up peacefully, without any destruction and damage of any kind to any railway property,” it further read.A total of eight people including four farmers died in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. SKM had alleged Ashish Mishra shot a farmer while the others were run over by the vehicles of his convey.However, MoS Teni had refuted the allegations saying that his son was not present at the site of the incident. Ashish reiterated the same and refuted SKM’s allegations.Later, three people, including Ashish Mishra, were arrested in the case.Here are LIVE updates on Rail Roko Protest:Update| Police to take action against those who will participate in the ‘Rail Roko Andolan’ called by farmers organization. 144 CrPC is also imposed in the district and will impose NSA if anyone tries to disrupt normalcy: Lucknow PoliceLast week, Rahul Gandhi-led Congress delegation urged President Ram Nath Kovind to sack the minister whose son is accused of mowing down protesting farmers in UP. The President, in turn, has said he will speak to the government over the issue, said the Congress.The Congress, in its memorandum to the President, said dismissal of the Union Minister is pertinent for a fair probe in the matter, which they say is also the demand of the farmer families who lost their loved ones.Terming the Lakhimpur incident “absolutely condemnable”, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said issues of such nature happen 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.BJP MP Varun Gandhi – dumped from his party’s National Executive this month after calling for justice for the families of farmers killed in Lakhimpur Kheri – tweeted an old video of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee warning the government against intimidating farmers.Pressing for Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s dismissal and arrest over Lakhimpur incident in Uttar Pradesh, in which his son has been arrested, the farmers’ body has called for a six-hour long nationwide ”Rail roko” agitation.The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of farmers’ unions, said it will hold a peaceful nationwide rail roko protest from 10 am to 4 pm for justice in Lakhimpur Kheri violence in Uttar Pradesh.Union Minister of state for Home Ajay Mishra’s son, Ashish, has been arrested in the case, but the farmers’ body say that as long as the minister is in the government justice cannot be secured in the matter.Eight people, including four farmers, were killed in Lakhimpur when a car belonging to the minister ran over them on October 3. Farmers have alleged that the minister’s son mowed down the protesting farmers.The minister had refuted the allegations saying that his son was not present at the site of the incident. His son has reiterated the same and denied the allegation.
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