In a twist in the tale, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), the main farmer body that is organising protests against the three farm laws by the Central government suspended Yogendra Yadav for one month. Incidentally, it was a Samyukta Kisan Morcha protest site where Lakhbir Singh was brutally murdered recently by Nihang Sikhs, with his hand and foot chopped off.
“He (Yadav) cannot participate in the meetings and other activities of Samyukt Kisan Morcha”, said a farmer leader talking to media after the decision to suspend Yogendra Yadav was taken in the general body meeting of SKM. It is pertinent to note that Yogendra Yadav was a member of the core committee of SKM and had actively participated in the farmer protest and had, on several occasions, fanned violence.
According to media reports, there was a meeting held on the 21st of October 2021 by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha. In the meeting, Yogendra Yadav was first asked to apologise for meeting the families of those BJP workers who were lynched and murdered during the Lakhimpur Kheri violence by “farmer” protestors.
When Yogendra Yadav refused to apologise, the SKM decided to suspend him for one month as punishment for meeting the families of those who were murdered by “farmer” protestors.
According to India Today, while Yogendra Yadav refused to apologise for meeting the families, he did apologise for not consulting his “colleagues” and the SKM before meeting the families. However, since he did not admit that he did anything wrong by meeting the families of the BJP workers, he was suspended by SKM.
It was on October 12th that Yogendra Yadav had tweeted about meeting the families of BJP workers who were lynched and murdered by farmers.
शहीद किसान श्रद्धांजलि सभा से वापिसी में बीजेपी कार्यकर्ता शुभम मिश्रा के घर गए। परिवार ने हम पर गुस्सा नही किया। बस दुखी मन से सवाल पूछे: क्या हम किसान नहीं? हमारे बेटे का क्या कसूर था? आपके साथी ने एक्शन रिएक्शन वाली बात क्यों कही?
— Yogendra Yadav (@_YogendraYadav) October 12, 2021
उनके सवाल कान में गूंज रहे हैं! pic.twitter.com/q0sYAT8gV6
It is also reported that Yogendra Yadav’s suspended was pushed by several Punjab based farmer organisations.
Lakhimpur Violence Case
On October 3, a ‘farmer’ mob attacked a BJP convoy with stones and sticks in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh. Amid the ensuing commotion, a vehicle was seen running over the protestors. Following that the angry mob of protestors had burned two vehicles, dragged the people inside the vehicle and had beaten them to death.
A total of eight people lost their lives in the violence. The incident turned into a major political drama over the past couple of weeks. So far, ten arrests have been made in the case. Uttar Pradesh government has given Rs. 45 lakh to the kin of the deceased and promised government job to one member of the family. A one-member committee has also been formed to probe the case.
On October 18, the Uttar Pradesh Police arrested four more people in connection to the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. The arrested people have been identified as Sumit Jaiswal, Shishi Pal, Satya Prakash Tripathi alias Satyam and Nandan Singh Bisht. The total number of people arrested in the case have reached 10.
