Will approach SC: Rakesh Tikait on bail to minister's son in Lakhimpur case

Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait on Tuesday said the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) will approach the Supreme Court over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence episode in which eight people, including four farmers, were killed.

Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra 'Teni', is a key accused in the case and the Allahabad High Court granted him bail on February 10. Ashish was expected to walk out of the jail on Tuesday.

Tikait, a prominent face of the farmers' stir and the national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), which is part of the SKM, also hit out at the BJP amid ongoing assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

The whole country and whole world watched the most infamous Lakhimpur Kheri episode of Ajay Teni and Ashish Teni, who despite having committed a heinous crime gets bail within three months. Everybody is seeing that and he will walk out of jail today, Tikait told reporters, adding the SKM would approach the Supreme Court.

"So is such dictatorial government needed, or this type of system needed in which someone who mows down people under a vehicle walks out of jail within three months. How will they behave with the public in times to come? These are our issues that people need to understand, the farmer leader said.

He claimed there was a power outage during the online court hearing in the case when the prosecution was making its point but the whole point could not be kept before the court.

He further hit out at the BJP-led Centre and the UP government over issues related to the farming community and the youth while also slamming the saffron party for fighting the elections on communal agendas instead of working for development.

Lakhimpur Kheri, known for its sugarcane farming, has eight assembly constituencies of Gola Gokrannath, Dhaurahra, Sri Nagar, Lakhimpur, Mohammdi, Kasta, Palia and Nighasan.

All eight assembly seats, which were won by BJP candidates in 2017, will go to polls on February 23 in the fourth phase of assembly elections in UP.

Election results would be announced on March 10.