Rahul Gandhi a political tourist saying ‘mai bhi hun naa’, says UP minister

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 6

Battlelines hardened further on the Lakhimpur Kheri violence on Wednesday as the Uttar Pradesh government accused the opposition of negative attitudes in a sensitive time with the ruling BJP saying Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was a political tourist keen on photo opportunities in the violent-hit area.

Assuring justice in the matter and action under law against any perpetrator—raja yaa rank—UP minister Sidharth Nath Singh said, “Truth will prevail. Action will be taken, whether the accused is ‘raja’ or ‘rank’. It’s a very sad incident and law will take its course.”

Attacking the opposition, Singh said, “Their conduct is negative on this sensitive issue. They have got another chance to play politics from home and on Twitter. They just want photo-ops, and upload images on social media.”

Singh said the state government had acted in the interest of law and order to deny permission to Gandhis to visit Lakhimpur Kheri.

“You can go sometime later to meet the families but you won’t be allowed to disturb peace. This is all happening under law. Today, suddenly one more ‘yuvraj’ of the Congress woke up energetic saying my sister is already there but where am I. So he said ‘mai bhi hu na’ and has embarked on an excursion to Lakhimpur,” the UP minister said moments after Gandhi called India a dictatorship.

The BJP leader said Gandhi had forgotten who imposed the Emergency and how after the death of Indira Gandhi Sikhs were massacred.

“The BJP stood by the Sikhs then to protect them. You better watch the plight of farmers in Rajasthan and Punjab,” Singh told Gandhi.

The minister also took a swipe at Gandhi for saying that he was going to Lakhimpur to determine ground reality.

“If you don’t know what happened why are you and your sister jumping to conclusions. Why pass judgments? Sometimes sweeping floor, sometime citing drones. Everyone uses drones in 21st century India. You are still in the 20th century,” Singh added.

He rejected Gandhi’s charge about post-mortems saying all families except one had accepted the reports.

“One family was not satisfied. The state government formed a panel of doctors to conduct a second autopsy which is under way. The state is acting transparently to reach to the bottom of the truth,” Singh said.

He questioned Gandhis over their anxiety, saying a senior farmer union leader had helped build peace and consensus in Lakhimpur.

“But you are habitual of making videos and speaking unreasonably. The Yogi government is committed to tracking down perpetrators of the Sunday violence and bringing them to justice,” the state minister added.