Highlights:
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman condemned the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri as “absolutely condemnable.”
- Nirmala Sitharaman was speaking at Harvard Kennedy School on her official visit to the United States.
The violence in Lakhimpur Kheri, which murdered four farmers, is “completely condemnable,” according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who emphasises that similar situations are occurring in other parts of India and should be highlighted “when they happen and not when it suits others” since Uttar Pradesh is governed by the BJP.
During a discussion at Harvard Kennedy School on Tuesday, Ms Sitharaman, who is on an official visit to the United States, was responding to a question about the killing of four farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri and the arrest of Ashish Mishra, the son of Ajay Mishra, Union Minister of State for Home.
“Issues of this kind occur in many different parts of India at the same time. I’d like you and many others, including Dr. Amartya Sen, who all know India, to raise it every time it happens, not just when it suits us because it’s a state where the BJP is in power and one of my cabinet colleagues’ sons is probably in trouble, and to also assume that it was them who did it and not anyone else. Due course of justice will also be established through a thorough investigation procedure,” she continued.
Also Read: Covid-Recovered Patients Bear The Wrath of Spinal Fungal Infection
Justifying the three farm rules, which have sparked hundreds of farmer protests, Sitharaman stated that the three acts had been in the discussions for over a decade and that the government had engaged all relevant parties before finalising the drafts.
Sitharaman went on to say that the measures were considered at every aspect of government before being enacted by Parliament. “When the farm laws were introduced in the Lok Sabha, there was a lengthy debate, and the agriculture minister responded as well. It was only in the Rajya Sabha that there was a lot of commotion and disruption,” she continued.
The Finance Minister reaffirmed that the government is willing to discuss the problem with farmers and has been inquiring with farmer organisations about the problems they have with the laws. She, on the other hand, stated that the farmers had not been able to identify a single area of disagreement.
