Ajay Mishra Teni skips event amid calls for his resignation

Minister Teni was supposed to attend the SSB’s foundation day event in Delhi as a chief guest. But his ministerial colleague Nisith Pramanik instead attended the ceremony, which was closed for the media

NEW DELHI: Union minister of state for home Ajay Mishra Teni skipped the Sashastra Seema Bal’s (SSB) 58th foundation day ceremony at the last minute amid calls for his resignation. Teni was supposed to attend the event in Delhi as a chief guest. But his ministerial colleague Nisith Pramanik instead attended the ceremony, which was closed for the media.

A file photo of minister of state for home affairs, Ajay Mishra Teni. (HT archives)

A spokesperson for the Union home ministry said Teni could not attend the event because of some urgent work, without elaborating.

Opposition protests have rocked Parliament over the demand to sack Teni, whose son Ashish Mishra is facing an attempt to murder charges for allegedly mowing down four protesting farmers and a journalist in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3.

A court in Uttar Pradesh last week added stringent charges to the police complaints against Ashish Mishra and 12 other accused. This came after a special investigation team said the Lakhimpur Kheri violence was a “deliberate, pre-planned conspiracy”. This touched off protests in Parliament where Opposition parties demanded that Teni should resign for an impartial probe and stalled the House.