Editorial: BJP’s lies stand exposed

The report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Uttar Pradesh police comes as a slap on the face of the BJP leadership which has been defending those accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri case in which four farmers and a journalist were mowed down by a vehicle belonging to Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s son […]

The report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Uttar Pradesh police comes as a slap on the face of the BJP leadership which has been defending those accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri case in which four farmers and a journalist were mowed down by a vehicle belonging to Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra. The Supreme Court-monitored probe has concluded that the October 3 incident that occurred during the peaceful protests by farmers in Uttar Pradesh was a “pre-planned conspiracy”. The conclusion flies in the face of the ruling party’s attempts at obfuscation and suppression of facts. Understandably, the SIT report has provided ammunition to the opposition parties which have been demanding the removal of Mishra from the Union Cabinet and his role in the shameful incident and its aftermath must be probed. The Centre’s argument that the matter was sub judice and hence could not be discussed in Parliament is specious and misleading. Any further prevarication on the matter would be indefensible. While there is a rule that prohibits the admission of motions, resolutions and questions that are already before the courts for discussion so that the House does not influence the court, it must be pointed out that Parliament can discuss matters of public importance. The rules of procedure of Parliament also contain a rule which empowers the House to suspend any rule to facilitate a discussion. Also, the House Speaker has the discretion in determining whether an issue for consideration is indeed sub judice. In this particular case, the matter of resignation of the minister is not before the court, but the case against his son is. The damning findings have not only corroborated the tell-tale evidence provided by the gruesome video clips of the incident but have also rendered the continuation of Mishra as Union minister untenable as his son is among the 13 accused.

The probe team has been allowed by the court to substitute lesser charges like rash driving, causing grievous injuries by negligence and causing death by a rash and negligent act with graver ones like an attempt to murder and voluntarily causing injuries by dangerous weapons. The clamour for Mishra’s ouster is bound to grow louder, though the NDA government has been stubbornly resisting the demand. The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), which is a part of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) that spearheaded the agitation against the Centre’s farm laws, too has joined the chorus of demand for ouster of the Union Minister and has threatened to continue the stir till their demand was met. What has struck a discordant note is the ruling dispensation’s reluctance to condemn the killings or mourn the loss of lives. Days after the Lakhimpur Kheri outrage, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had chosen to refer to ‘selective interpretation’ of human rights by vested interests.

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