High-level delegation of Congress leaders on Wednesday met President Ram Nath Kovind and urged him to dismiss Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni, whose son Ashish Mishra was arrested, and to direct setting up of an independent judicial investigation by a commission comprising two sitting judges of the Supreme Court of India or a high court.

The Indian Express reported that senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, AK Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra told the President that the “unforgivable and merciless murder of farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri” has “scarred the soul of India”.

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In a memorandum submitted to the President, the Congress said, “This deliberate act of murder, in broad daylight followed by the audacious reactions of the State and Central Governments, has completely eroded the people’s faith in those tasked with bringing these perpetrators to justice.”

Referring to the continuing protests by farmer groups on the outskirts of Delhi against the three contentious farm laws, the Congress leaders told the President that “the Modi Government has refused to relent or have a meaningful conversation with them (the farmers). Their policy appears to be to “tire & retire” the Anndatas, a strategy doomed to failure.”

“In this context, it is important to note that on September 27th, 2021, the day of the Bharat Bandh called by protesting farmers against the three black laws, Ajay Mishra Teni, MoS Home Affairs, in a public function openly threatened the agitating farmers and even boasted about his dubious antecedents. The video of his speech has been played on different public platforms and is available in the public domain. How can justice be done when the original provocation came from Union MoS Home Affairs himself?” the memorandum said.

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The Congress has been attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led Uttar Pradesh government over the violence. It has also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the issue.

Priyanka and Rahul, who visited the Tikunia village in Lakhimpur Kheri, where the violence took place, took a jibe at PM Modi who visited Lucknow for inaugurating development projects. The Congress leaders said the Prime Minister did not have time to visit Lakhimpur Kheri.

Meanwhile, the BJP said that a lot of politics is happening around the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. Naming Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said that they were trying to project themselves as “champions of Dalits”.