New Delhi: In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP MP Varun Gandhi wrote that the government must support farmers' demand for a statutory guarantee of MSP in the national interest. The Lok Sabha member from Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, also urged Prime Minister Modi to dismiss all politically driven bogus FIRs filed against farmers demonstrating against three farm regulations that have since been abolished.
Gandhi, who was kicked off the BJP's national leadership last month over tweeting about the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in Uttar Pradesh, called the episode a "blemish on democracy."
On October 3, eight people were killed, including four farmers, after a demonstration in the Uttar Pradesh region of Lakhimpur Kheri turned violent. Several persons were arrested in connection with the incident, including Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra.
"The Lakhimpur Kheri episode is a stain on democracy," he wrote in the letter, adding that "severe action must be taken against any Union minister involved." The BJP politician has been outspoken in his criticism of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, as well as in his support for farmers in their fight against agricultural rules.
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