Attempts to turn Lakhimpur into Hindu vs Sikh battle, says Varun Gandhi

BJP MP Varun Gandhi urged parties to put aside petty political gains in favour of national unity in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. "An attempt to turn Lakhimpur Kheri into a Hindu vs Sikh battle is being made. Not only is this an immoral and false narrative, it is dangerous to create these faultlines and reopen wounds that have taken a generation to heal. We must not put petty political gains above national unity," he said. 

Varun had earlier shared a video clip purportedly of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident on Twitter on Thursday showing an SUV belonging to the convoy of a BJP leader crushing protesting farmers. "The video is crystal clear. Protestors cannot be silenced through murder. There has to be accountability for the innocent blood of farmers that has been spilled and justice must be delivered before a message of arrogance and cruelty enters the minds of every farmer," the Pilibhit MP of the BJP said. The 37-second video clip showed a speeding Mahindra Thar running over people. Two SUVs—one black-coloured and another white—were seen following the Thar, while there was a commotion of people shouting and crying in the video. In the immediate aftermath of the perceived criticism, he was dropped from the BJP national executive. 

Eight people were killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence on Sunday. Of the eight, four were farmers, who were allegedly knocked down by vehicles driven by BJP workers travelling to welcome Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to an event in the area. The other four were two BJP workers, a driver of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra and Raman Kashyap, a journalist working for a private television channel. An FIR under section 302 of the IPC (murder) has been registered against the Union minister's son, Ashish Mishra, and others in connection with the incident but no arrest has been made so far.