Varun Gandhi and his mother
Maneka Gandhi, both members of Parliament, have been removed by the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) from its 80-member national executive. The demotion came
hours after Varun Gandhi broke from the party line and in a
tweet condemned the violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri, in which at
least eight people, including four protesting farmers, died last Sunday.

Also Read | Understand their pain: Varun Gandhi wants Centre to engage with farmers

Violence broke out in Uttar
Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district on October 3 after a car from BJP leader and
Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s convoy allegedly rammed farmers protesting against
new agriculture laws. Ajay Mishra’s son, Ashish Mishra, has been accused of
murder.

Also Read | Lakhimpur Kheri violence: UP govt appoints retired Allahabad High Court judge to probe

On Thursday, Varun Gandhi, who
is the BJP member of Parliament from Pilibhit, also in Uttar Pradesh, shared a
video on Twitter which shows cars ramming into people. The video is said to be
from the incident in Lakhimpur Kheri, in which some farmers were allegedly hit
by cars during protests. Opoyi has not independently verified the authenticity
of the video.

Varun Gandhi tweeted: “The video is crystal clear. Protestors cannot be silenced through murder.
There has to be accountability for the innocent blood of farmers that has been
spilled and justice must be delivered before a message of arrogance and cruelty
enters the minds of every farmer.”

Barely four hours later the BJP released a new list of members of the
party’s national executive, dropping both Varun and Maneka Gandhi, a former
union minister and BJP MP from Sultanpur. Both Varun and Maneka Gandhi have
spoken in support of farmers during the ongoing stir against the Centre’s new
farm laws.

Also Read | Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra allowed to visit Lakhimpur Kheri

Varun Gandhi, 41, is a cousin of Congress leaders Rahul and Priyanka
Gandhi. Both Rahul and Priyanka have slammed the BJP following the Lakhimpur
Kheri incident. The duo has also met the families of the farmers killed in
Sunday’s violence.

Varun Gandhi is the son of late Congress leader and Indira Gandhi’s son
Sanjay Gandhi. Born into the Nehru-Gandhi family which has led the Congress
since independence, Varun joined the BJP in 2004 after being neglected by the
Congress. He is a three-time MP from the BJP and has also served as the party’s
general secretary. Varun’s mother Maneka Gandhi was initially an independent supported
by the BJP and later formally joined the party. She has been a minister in
multiple BJP governments.

Another union minister Birender Singh, who was also reportedly seen as
sympathetic to the farmers’ protests, was dropped from the BJP national
executive as was Subramanian Swamy, who was recently seen as critical of the
BJP.