A candlelight vigil was held at Valluvarkottam here on Tuesday to pay homage to farmers who lost their lives in Lakhimpur Kheri violence and condemn the alleged inaction of the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella organisation of over 40 farm unions, had appealed to progressive groups to organise prayer and homage meetings all over the country, followed by candlelight vigils in the evening.
Despite the rain, more than 200 people, including members of SKM and the Punjabi community in the city, participated. State convener of SKM K. Balakrishnan, State secretary of Tamilnadu Vivasayigal Sangam P. Shanmugam, and R. Geetha of Unorganised Workers’ Federation spoke at the meeting.
Mr. Balakrishnan said: “The Centre miserably failed to act against the culprits who are responsible for the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. We demand the dismissal and arrest of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra who is considered the main conspirator of the incident in Lakhimpur Kheri. Following the call of SKM, we are going to conduct a series of protests in the coming week in the State.”