Pushing for President's rule in Uttar Pradesh, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary today said the entire state machinery under Yogi Adityanath is trying to suppress the truth of what happened in Lakhimpur Kheri and clamping down on the Opposition.
The RLD president, one of the few leaders to reach the Uttar Pradesh district where eight people, including four farmers, were killed during a farmers' protest on Sunday, said he had to employ "guerrilla tactics" to reach the district.
"Reaching Lakhimpur was a tough task because Yogi Adityanath has put the entire government machinery to work towards thwarting the Opposition. There needs to be a separation between the state and the party which is not there in UP... from the district magistrate to state-level officials, and the police, it seems everyone has taken membership of the BJP," Mr Chaudhary alleged in a phone interview to news agency PTI.
Mr Chaudhary, who took 13 hours to reach Lakhimpur Kheri from Delhi, longer than it would otherwise take to cover the 420 km distance, met the families of some of the victims.
All roads to Lakhimpur Kheri, about 130 km from Lucknow, have been blocked for opposition leaders with most, including Congress' Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Bhupesh Baghel as well as Akhilesh Yadav, being stopped from entering the district.
It is a "worrisome trend" that no one in the bureaucracy has raised questions over orders given by the political class, Mr Chaudhary said, adding that he was surprised to hear Additional Director General, Law and Order, Prashant Kumar saying that political people are not allowed in the district.
"What does that mean? Do you not have faith in the political process? Why do they fight elections if they don't have faith in the political voice? It is across the board, you see different parties... senior leaders are still in confinement. It is a shameful incident and reflects the callous attitude of the administration," Mr Chaudhary said.
Four of the eight killed in Sunday's violence in Lakhimpur Kheri were farmers, allegedly knocked down by vehicles driven by BJP workers travelling to welcome Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to an event in the area. The others were identified as BJP workers and their driver who were allegedly pulled out of the vehicles and attacked by the protesters.
The Uttar Pradesh Police has lodged a case against Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra's son Ashish but no arrest has been made so far.
Giving details of his journey to Lakhimpur Kheri, glimpses of which he put out on Twitter, Mr Chaudhary said it was a "tough journey" that meant walking some distance with his face covered in a 'gamchha (towel)' and changing vehicles. He reached last evening.
"I had to change many roads as soon as I got advance information that a particular road had been sealed. We could not communicate with anyone as we had switched off our telephones. I had to send people who were with me on a different route, so a lot of guerilla tactics had to be employed... it is again frightening to have to do those things," he said.
He backed the demand from some Opposition quarters to impose President's rule in the state.
"The minister who is in charge of the Home department has egged on supporters to take on farmers. His son, after that, had taken his vehicle and deliberately (mowed down farmers), it was an intentional crime, it was premeditated, it was not a spur of the moment incident or an accident," Mr Chaudhary alleged.
He said the farmers told him that sticks were tied to the front of the vehicle that mowed down farmers for maximum impact, but clarified that he cannot verify the claim.
Hitting out at the Yogi government, Jayant Chaudhary said not one person who is part of the government has come out and said anything on the death of the farmers.
"Mr Maurya tweeted about Lakhimpur but is silent about the death of farmers. Yogi-ji gave his usual one statement. Apart from that, you feel almost the entire government machinery is working to suppress the (truth) of the incident," he said.
"That way it fulfils all criteria (for the imposition President's rule). The government is trying to suppress the people's voice, it is trying to play down crimes and like an emergency, it is clamping down... it is imposing harsh rules on the Opposition, trying to suppress them," Mr Chaudhary said.
Referring to the videos of Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Deepender Hooda before their detention by the police, the RLD chief said it was "shocking" how they were "manhandled".
In reference to Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda, he said there are certain privileges that come with being a member of the Parliament. In Mr Chaudhary's view, the attitude and behaviour of the police amounted to "infringing on the right to parliamentary privilege".
Jayant Chaudhary also demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in Lucknow for an event on Tuesday, should express regret for the "failures of his government".
"The PM should also express regret that even after ten months, farmers are sitting on the road."
Talking about his meeting with the victims' families, the RLD chief said a panchayat was being held when he reached the village in Lakhimpur Kheri.
"One of the things that the farmers pointed out to me was that they feared they may get targeted. The government has announced certain things and they had doubts about how quickly they will be implemented. They also did not want any cases to be filed against farmers and want strict action against the minister." he said.
"I met the family of the victim (Lavpreet). He has two sisters. He was a young boy. The family doesn't have much support. They have less than two acres of land. Basically, his father is a construction worker. That is how they are supporting themselves. But it is a very brave family," Mr Chaudhary said.
