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Rajnath Singh roots for farmers during Lakhimpur Kheri campaign
Back then, a vehicle allegedly linked to the Union minister ran over some farmers protesting against the three farm laws, that have since been rolled back, killing four farmers and a local journalist.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday marketed the BJP government as a “pro-farmer” one during his campaign in Lakhimpur Kheri where the opposition has been playing up the October 3 incident in which Ashish Mishra, the son of India’s junior home minister Ajay Mishra ‘Teni’, the Lok Sabha MP from here, was subsequently arrested for allegedly running down farmers.
Back then, a vehicle allegedly linked to the Union minister ran over some farmers protesting against the three farm laws, that have since been rolled back, killing four farmers and a local journalist. Three more people, including two BJP workers, were killed in the violence that followed, taking the toll to eight that day.
Rajnath Singh, the first senior BJP leader to campaign in the region after the October 3 incident, however, could only address the people on phone as his chopper could not land in Lakhimpur Kheri due to inclement weather.
The place where Rajnath Singh addressed the audience is some 80 kilometres from Nighasan assembly constituency where the October 3 incident that sparked a political row happened.
Rajnath Singh, a former UP chief minister and BJP’s star campaigner, however, pitched the Modi government as a government that cared for the farmers.
“No other Prime Minister in independent India has been as sensitive towards the farmers as Narendra Modi who suddenly withdrew the three farm laws only because some farmer brothers had reservations,” Rajnath Singh said.
He also highlighted the agriculture-based economy of Lakhimpur Kheri and said the BJP government was striving hard to make farming profitable.
“In the union budget (2022-23) tabled on Tuesday, the government had mooted proposal for organic farming and efforts were underway to increase the income of even the small farmers,” he added.
“The recent budget had made a record allocation of funds, unprecedented in free India. The allocation for upgradation of defence sector with a focus on manufacturing of defence materials and weapons in India was aimed at making the country self-reliant in defence production,” he added.
Pitching the Bharatiya Janata Party as one that chose the path of development, he lashed out at the Samajwadi Party (SP), blaming it for the poor law and order situation during its regime.
“The Yogi government, during its five-year term, has changed the scenario and hardcore criminals are behind bars now,” he said.
“The BJP was the party which stands for both development and protecting cultural heritage,” Rajnath Singh said, while highlighting the renovation of Somnath and Kedarnath temples, construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya and Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi under BJP rule.
Rajnath Singh was scheduled to address a public meeting around 11.30am. He was also scheduled to hold a door-to-door campaign in support of party candidates Yogesh Verma from Lakhimpur and Manju Tyagi from Srinagar constituencies. That, however, didn’t happen as Rajnath’s helicopter couldn’t land.
