'Not in politics to crush someone under SUV': UP BJP chief amid Lakhimpur outrage

As the BJP faces fire over the Lakhimpur killings, its UP chief Swatantra Dev Singh on Sunday urged party workers to win people’s confidence with their conduct, saying “we are not in politics to loot” or “crush someone under a Fortuner”.

His remarks came after Union minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra was arrested on Saturday in connection with mowing down of four farmers by an SUV in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3.

Singh told party workers in Lucknow that they will get vote by their behaviour.

"You will get votes by your behaviour. If 10 people of your locality are praising you, my heart swells (with pride). Your behaviour should be such that people do not turn away their faces after seeing you,” he asserted.

The BJP leader’s comments came hours after Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused the government of trying to “save” a Union minister's son in the case and said except BJP leaders and their "billionaire friends" nobody was safe in the country.

Also watch: Lakhimpur Kheri violence: An emotional timeline of loss and protest

Four farmers were mowed down by the SUV when a group agitating against the Centre's three new farm laws was demonstrating against the visit of UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.

Two BJP workers and a driver were allegedly beaten to death by the angry protesters, while a local journalist was also killed in the violence.