Lakhimpur Kheri violence reminds me of Jallianwala Bagh massacre: Siddu

Bengaluru: Senior Karnataka Congress leader Siddaramaiah said on Tuesday that the killing of four farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh reminded him of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the incident.

Siddaramaiah, who met his party president Sonia Gandhi here and discussed the upcoming bypolls in two assembly constituencies in the state and other party matters, alleged that the current BJP government is taking “farmers lightly”.

Eight people were killed Sunday as violence erupted during a farmers” protest claiming the lives of both farmers and BJP workers in Lakhimpur Kheri district. Four of the dead were farmers, allegedly knocked down by vehicles driven by BJP workers. The others were BJP workers and a driver who were allegedly pulled out of the vehicles and lynched by the protesters.

Siddaramaiah said Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra should be dismissed and his son who was allegedly behind the incident should be arrested.

“This reminds me of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre…killing of four innocent farmers,” he told reporters after meeting Sonia Gandhi.

Alleging that the current BJP government is taking “farmers lightly”, he sought an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the violence.

“Farmers” protest against three agri laws has been going on for 10 months but the PM has not tried to resolve the issue till now. The Modi government is an anti-farmer government…. The Modi government is more like a Hitler government,” he charged.

(With inputs from PTI)