BJP MP Varun Gandhi has continued to extend his support for the protesting farmers as he took to social media to share an old video of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In a veiled dig at the Narendra Modi government, the young MP from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh wrote, “Wise words from a big-hearted leader.”
In the video dating back to 1980, Vajpayee, then an opposition politician, could be seen warning the then Congress government for the crackdown against protesting farmers.
“I want to warn the government. Stay away from the practice of crackdown. Do not try to scare (the farmers). Farmers are not going to be scared. We don’t want to use the farmers’ movement for political gains. But we support the genuine demand of farmers.
“If the government resorts to crackdown and abuses the law and try to curb the peaceful movement, we will not hesitate from jumping in in support of the farmers’ agitation. We will stand in solidarity with them.”
Wise words from a big-hearted leader… pic.twitter.com/xlRtznjFAx
— Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) October 14, 2021
Varun Gandhi has been vocal ever since four farmers were killed by Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s SUV rammed into protesting farmers in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district. Ajay Mishra’s son, Ashish Mishra, was believed to be in the car when farmers were mowed down by the minister’s SUV. There were reports that the junior Mishra had fled to Nepal after he ignored the police summon. However, he was forced to make an appearance before the police following widespread condemnation for the Uttar Pradesh Police. Junior Mishra was later arrested.
Reacting to the Lakhimpur Kheri massacre, Varun had tweeted, “This video of farmers being mowed down deliberately in Lakhimpur Kheri would shake the conscience of anyone. The police must immediately take note of this video and arrest everyone including the owner of the vehicle, those sitting inside and other involved.”
Days later, the young BJP MP had tweeted, “An attempt to turn #LakhimpurKheri 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.”
Varun and his mother Maneka Gandhi, an MP and former union minister, were dropped from the BJP national executive. Also excluded from the 80-member national executive of the BJP was former union minister Birender Singh, who too has been sympathetic to the farmers’ movement.