Minister Ajay Mishra Teni must be sacked and sent to jail, say farmers’ leaders after SC cancels son’s bail

Buoyed by the Supreme Court’s order to cancel the bail of Lakhimpur Kheri violence accused Ashish Misra, son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) – an umbrella body of over forty farmers’ unions – has pitched for the resignation of Teni from the Union Cabinet.

Addressing a press conference on Monday afternoon, SKM leaders, while welcoming the SC’s decision, demanded the resignation of minister Teni and said he must be sacked and sent to jail.

AIKS general secretary Hannan Mollah said after the SC’s decision to cancel his son’s bail, it is clear that accused Ashish Mishra Teni’s father had used his clout to secure the same.

“We demand that minister Teni must resign or be sacked from the Union Cabinet,” said Mollah.

Leader of Krantikari Kisan Union, Darshan Pal Singh said, that when Allahabad High Court granted bail to Mishra, a lot of people were disappointed. “Then senior SC lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan and Dushyant Dave challenged the decision in the SC on behalf of SKM and the result is before us,” he said.

Saying that Ajay Mishra had lied to the people of the country, judiciary and media, Singh added, “Ajay Mishra could not prove that his son Ashish was attending a wrestling program”.

It is worth recalling here that Ajay Mishra Teni has said that his son Ashish Mishra was attending a wrestling program at the time of the incident in which protesting farmers were mowed down by speeding SUVs.

Demanding Teni’s resignation, Singh said that a meeting of the SKM will be convened in the first week of the next month to decide the future course of action.

SKM wants Teni to resign as he used his clout and power to threaten the witnesses.

BKU (Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan said that Teni should be sacked and sent to jail.

“We will fight till he is sacked or resigns and is sent to jail,” added Ugrahan while addressing the media.

Ashish Mishra has been ordered to surrender in a week by the Supreme Court.

He was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court on February 10, in the midst of the campaign for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election.

Cancelling his bail, the SC said that Allahabad HC order is based on “irrelevant observations” and it “overlooked relevant considerations”.

“The victim has unbridled participatory right in such a criminal trial process,” Justice Surya Kant said while announcing the decision.