A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the repeal of the farm laws, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday urged him not to share the stage with Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra during the directors general of police conference in Lucknow keeping in mind farmers' interest.
She also sought the removal of Mishra from his post over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which his son is an accused.
Priyanka Gandhi made the appeal to the prime minister through a letter that she read out in front of reporters hours before the commencement of the DGPs conference.
Reacting to the comments made by Priyanka Gandhi, Uttar Pradesh minister Siddharth Nath Singh mockingly asked her since when the 'corporate Congress' has started caring for the farmers.
"For you, the biggest farmer is Robert Vadra, who bought land at throwaway prices from the farmers, and sold them overnight at high prices," Singh said in a statement.
Robert Vadra is husband of Priyanka Gandhi.
The minister, who is also the spokesman of the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh, questioned the 'silence' of Priyanka Gandhi on the killing of farmers in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh and the police lathicharging farmers in Rajasthan.
The Congress is in power in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.
In her letter to the prime minister, the Congress leader wrote, 'Yesterday, while addressing the countrymen, you had said that with true mind and pious heart and keeping in mind the interests of the farmers, an unprecedented decision to repeal the farm laws was taken.
'If this is true, then getting justice delivered to the families affected by the Lakhimpur Kheri violence should be your top priority,' the Congress general secretary said.
'But, Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra 'Teni' still remains a member of your council of ministers.
'If you share the stage in the (DGPs) conference with the father of the accused (Ashish Mishra), then a clear message will go to the aggrieved families that you are still with those persons, who are giving patronage to the murderers.'
She further said, 'If today, your intention is really clear about the farmers of the country, then you should not share the stage with the Union minister of state for home, and remove him.'
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary also urged that cases registered against the farmers in the country for staging protests against the agri laws be withdrawn and financial assistance be given to the families of all those who died during the agitation.
'You are the prime minister and you must be understanding well the responsibility towards the farmers of the country. Ensuring justice towards every citizen is not only the duty but also the moral responsibility of the prime minister,' she said in the letter written in Hindi.
Referring to Ashish Mishra, the son of Union minister Ajay Mishra, the Congress leader said, 'The entire country has been witness to the cruelty that has been meted out to the 'annadatas' (food providers) in Lakhimpur Kheri.
'You know that the son of the Union minister of state for Home is the main accused in running a vehicle over the farmers.
'Owing to political pressure, the Uttar Pradesh government has from the beginning tried to stifle the voice of justice. The Supreme Court has said that it seems the government is trying to save a special accused person,' she said.
Violence had erupted in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3 when farmers were protesting the visit of Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya's visit to Mishra's place.
Four agitating farmers were run over by a vehicle while four others, including a journalist, two Bharatiya Janata Party workers were also killed in the violence that ensued.
Priyanka Gandhi also said that she had met the family members of the deceased farmers, and they are in tremendous pain.
'All the families want justice and with the Union minister of state for Home being in office, they do not have any hope of getting justice. The current situation of the probe in the Lakhimpur violence case proves that the apprehension of the families is correct. Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have shared the stage with him (Ajay Mishra),' she said.
