The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Monday condemned the BJP’s decision to field Union minister of state Ajay Mishra Teni from the Kheri Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh and called upon farmers to organise procession in villages across India against his candidature.
The farmers have been demanding the resignation of Teni, whose son Ashish allegedly ran his car over protesting farmers at Lakhimpur Kheri in October 2021.
According to the statement, the SKM will declare its response to the move in the Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat scheduled on March 14 at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi.
“The SKM strongly protested and condemned BJP for fielding Ajay Mishra Teni, father of main accused Ashish Mishra Teni and also the main conspirator of the dreadful Lakhimpur Kheri farmers’ massacre, in the Lok Sabha elections 2024 from Kheri seat in Uttar Pradesh,” it said in a statement.
“The peaceful protest of farmers on October 3, 2021, as part of the historic struggle against the three farm Acts and on other demands was brutally attacked by running vehicles over farmers, thus killing Nakshtra Singh, Lavjeet Singh, Daljeet Singh and Gurvinder Singh and one journalist Raman Kashyap.”
“The SKM calls upon farmers to organise torchlight procession in the villages across India against the candidature of Teni for Kheri seat and to expose the corporate-criminal nexus under Modi raj. The date of protest will be decided by the respective state coordination committees of SKM,” it said.
{{/usCountry}}“The SKM calls upon farmers to organise torchlight procession in the villages across India against the candidature of Teni for Kheri seat and to expose the corporate-criminal nexus under Modi raj. The date of protest will be decided by the respective state coordination committees of SKM,” it said.
{{/usCountry}}The SKM also said there will not be any other call of action at Delhi before March 14. The SKM, which led the 2020-21 farmers’ protests at Delhi borders against the now-repealed farm laws, also condemned the ban by the Union information and broadcasting ministry on “Kisan Satyagraha” film directed by Kesari Haravoo in the Bengaluru International Film Festival.
The SKM also appealed to farmers across India to observe International Women’s Day on March 8 while coordinating with the women’s organisations and other mass organisations.