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AAP faces water cannons in Chandigarh during protest over Lakhimpur Kheri violence
Earlier today, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal slammed the Centre over its "silence" and demanded swift action against the culprits of Lakhimpur Kheri violence.
Police used water cannons to disperse demonstrators as Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers staged a protest outside the Raj Bhawan in Chandigarh on Wednesday over the death of farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri. Addressing a press conference earlier in the day, Delhi chief minister and AAP president Arvind Kejriwal hit out at the Centre over its “silence” on Sunday’s violence that claimed the lives of eight people, including four farmers.
Kejriwal also demanded immediate removal of Union minister of state for home affairs Ajay Kumar Mishra, whose son Ashish was allegedly in the SUV that mowed down the protesting farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri. The AAP leader questioned why there were no arrests yet and claimed that the killers were being “shielded” by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Uttar Pradesh.
The Aam Aadmi Party also staged a protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath in Ludhiana, Punjab on Tuesday seeking arrest of the Union minister and his son. The party claimed that the ‘BJP goons’ are openly killing the farmers in a bid to suppress their voice against the three contentious farm laws.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella of farmers' unions, even alleged that one of the deceased farmers was shot dead by the minister’s son while the rest were allegedly mowed down by the vehicles of the BJP convoy. An FIR has been registered against Ashish, although they have denied the claims.
The incident took place on Sunday when Ajay Mishra was travelling to receive Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to an event in the area. A video of the incident has been doing rounds on social media.
