Lakhimpur Kheri violence: Police use water cannon to disperse AAP workers trying to lay siege to guv’s house

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Wednesday staged a protest near the Punjab Raj Bhawan demanding immediate dismissal of Union minister Ajay Mishra from the cabinet and the arrest of his son for the incident in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri

Demanding immediate dismissal of Union minister Ajay Mishra from the cabinet and the arrest of his son for the incident in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday staged a protest near the Punjab Raj Bhawan.

Chandigarh Police use water cannon to disperse AAP workers during the protest march against Lakhimpur Kheri incident at MLA on Wednesday. (Ravi Kumar/HT)

The Chandigarh Police used water cannon to disperse the party workers who tried to lay siege to the governor’s house. The police had put up barricades near the MLA hostel to stop the protesters from proceeding towards the Raj Bhawan. When AAP supporters led by AAP legislature party deputy leader Saravjit Kaur Manuke tried to break the barricades, the police used the water cannon to disperse them.

However, some party leaders, including Punjab affairs in-charge Jarnail Sigh and MLA Aman Arora managed to reach close to the governor’s house and were detained from there. Jarnail and Arora said the AAP, through the governor of Punjab, wanted to ask the Modi-led central government and the Yogi Adityanath government why they had not taken action against the Union minister and his son, according to a party release.

Miffed Mann conspicuous by absence

While MLAs Budh Ram, Baldev Singh, Kulwant Singh Pandori, Manjit Singh Bilaspur and Jai Singh Rodi participated in the protest, AAP state unit president Bhagwant Mann was conspicuous by his absence from the protest in Chandigarh. He was also not part of the delegation of state leaders led by Punjab affairs co-incharge Raghav Chadha that went to Lakhimpur Tekri. Mann is said to be upset over the Delhi leaders’ attempts to call the shots in the state unit as well as the delay in naming the chief ministerial (CM) face of the party for the upcoming state polls. The two-time Sangrur MP’s supporters have been campaigning for naming him as the party’s chief ministerial candidate. The AAP leadership has been non-committal so far as some central leaders have reservations about making him the face of the party.