Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said that Ajay Mishra, Union minister of state for home affairs, should resign from his post, taking responsibility for the October 3 Lakhimpur Kheri incident in which eight people, including four farmers, were killed.
Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra, who was allegedly present in one of the cars that had hit protesting farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri, was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police earlier on October 9 and was sent to a three-day police remand on Monday. However, the minister and his son have both denied the claim that he was present at the spot during the incident.
“Minister of state Ajay Mishra should resign taking the responsibility of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident of killing of farmers,” Pawar said during a press conference at the NCP office in Mumbai. Further, he also insisted that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party should “take a stand” regarding the incident and said, “neither UP CM [Yogi Adityanath] nor MoS Home [Ajay Mishra] can escape.
