New Delhi, Oct 5 : A day after an agreement with the administration over the issue of death of four farmers among nine killed at Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Tuesday said the agreement was only to pave way for the last rites of those deceased farmers, but the agitation will continue.
"The agreement with the administration on Monday was only to pave way for the last rites to be performed.
Our demands remain the same. The morality or lack of it, of the present government already stands fully exposed. SKM will soon announce a programme of action for getting these main demands met, and the agitation will not be called off until then," the SKM said in a release here.
The SKM has demanded the immediate arrest of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ashish Mishra Teni, who belongs to BJP, and his accomplices.
The SKM also demanded dismissal of Teni and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar from their posts immediately.
Farmers are protesting Teni's alleged comments, followed by his son Ashish Mishra allegedly mowing down four farmers at Lakhimpur Kheri while Khattar's video instigating violence against farmers had gone viral, both on Sunday.
"It was only a matter of time that the true narrative of the reality of the incidents in Lakhimpur Kheri had to emerge," the SKM said, referring to a video about the Lakhimpur Kheri incident that too has gone viral on social media platforms.
The SKM had immediately called an emergency Panchayat and announced an agitation at that village.
On Monday, for several hours together, the farmers had blocked the roads leading to the place where the incident had taken place and kept the four dead farmers' bodies in a glass-topped enclosures.
They had claimed they would neither move from there, nor allow last rites of the farmers till their demands in connection with Teni and Mishra were met.
Several hours later, around noon, farmers' leader Rakesh Tikait from the Bhartiya Kisan Union visited the place and held a meeting with the Uttar Pradesh administration.
Announcing that the issues are resolved, he requested the agitating farmers to make way and asked the families of the deceased and the victims to go home.
"SKM leader Tajinder Virk, who was grievously injured in the Lakhimpur Kheri massacre was operated upon, with a neuro-surgery procedure, after being shifted to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram.
He is reported to be out of danger now, and SKM wishes him and all other injured persons a full and speedy recovery," a release from the SKM said.
The SKM also said, it condemned the arrest and detention of Gurnam Singh Chaduni, SKM leader by the Uttar Pradesh government for many hours since Monday evening.
"The undemocratic and authoritarian behaviour of the Uttar Pradesh government is illegal and challenged by SKM.
It is clear that the Yogi government is wary of the truth of Lakhimpur Kheri massacre emerging fully in front of the world and is protecting its own," the release said.
The SKM condemned the attempts of the Uttar Pradesh government to prevent people from Punjab to come to Lakhimpur Kheri.
--IANS
niv/pgh.
Source: IANS
