JOIN USVarun Gandhi warns against 'Hindu vs Sikh' narrative in Lakhimpur violence
BJP leader Varun Gandhi on Sunday yet again cautioned against attempts to paint the Lakhimpur Kheri killings as a “Hindu versus Sikh” battle, terming it as an “immoral and false” narrative.
Gandhi, a three-term Lok Sabha member from Pilibhit, said petty political gains should not be put above national unity.
Gandhi has been taking a stand that is seen as divergent from the BJP view on the issue. He had written to Chief Minister Yogi Adiytanath demanding Rs one crore compensation to the kin of those killed in Lakhimpur Kheri when a vehicle from the convoy of Union Minister Ajay Mishra ‘Teni’ ploughed through protesting farmers, killing four.
“An attempt to turn Lakhimpur Kheri into a Hindu vs Sikh battle is being made. Not only is this an immoral & false narrative, it is dangerous to create these fault-lines & reopen wounds that have taken a generation to heal. We must not put petty political gains above national unity,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi and his mother former union minister Maneka Gandhi were dropped from the BJP National Executive Committee last week.
BJP President J P Nadda had called Gandhi last week after the Lok Sabha member questioned the party’s approach to the Lakhimpur Kheri killings.
Lakhimpur Kheri and Pilibhit are part of the Terai region of the state where a large number of Sikhs have settled for the past several decades and engaged in farming. Rice, wheat and sugarcane are major crops in the fertile region abutting the Nepal border.
Gandhi said the struggle for justice in Lakhimpur Kheri was about the “cruel massacre of poor farmers in the face of an arrogant local power elite”, and the issue has no religious connotations.
“To use the word 'Khalistani' liberally to describe the protesting farmers is not only an insult to the generations of these proud sons of the Terai who have fought and shed blood on our borders, it is also extremely dangerous for our national unity if this provokes the wrong kind of reaction,” he said.
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