oppn parties Finally, Opposition Parties Get To Visit Lakhimpur Kheri

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Finally, Opposition Parties Get To Visit Lakhimpur Kheri

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-10-06 14:21:49

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

The UP government has finally decided to allow politicians from the opposition to meet the families of the farmers killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. It has said that the teams must not be of more than five people. The Aam Aadmi Party was first off the block, once again showing that it is taking the ensuing UP elections very seriously. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal spoke to one of the families over phone. A TMC team has also reportedly met the families. At the time of writing this piece, Priyanka Vadra and Rahul Gandhi, along with the chief ministers of Punjab and Chhattisgarh, are already on way to Lakhimpur Kheri. Others parties are also sending teams to meet the families.

This is a welcome decision as political parties should not be prevented from meeting people in distress, hearing their grievances and offering help. In the instant case, since the son and other people connected with a Union minister have been accused of causing the problem, it is all the more important for the opposition parties to meet and provide help to the distressed families. The initial response of the UP government was undemocratic and more befitting of a police state. Perhaps it first wanted to settle the matter with the families, get the bodies cremated and then allow politicians to meet them as it knew that the opposition will take political advantage of the situation. But that is not the correct way. In a democracy, such restrictive policies often backfire.

To be fair to the UP government, it is not alone in using such restrictive policies. It has become a practice in all states ruled by different parties to prevent the opposition from visiting trouble spots. West Bengal also did not allow a BJP team to visit areas near Howrah when disturbances happened there. Other states have also done it. But with UP, it has become a recurring feature and it multiplies the unfairness by detaining journalists (Siddique Kappan, who went to report on the aftermath of the Hathras gang rape and murder, is still in jail). Such highhanded policies have no place in a democracy and must not be resorted to. 

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