Himachal Pradesh Congress on Tuesday staged protests across all the districts of the state against the killing of farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh and arrest of AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

In Shimla, the protest was led by state Congress chief Kuldeep Singh Rathore in which District Congress Committee (Urban) chief Jitendra Chaudhary and Mahila Congress chief Zainab Chandel were present among others.

Addressing party workers, Kuldeep Singh Rathore expressed anger over the killing of four farmers in Uttar Pradesh by the Union Minister’s son and said people associated with BJP were openly committing crimes leading to ‘jungle raj’ type situation in the state.

“It is clear from the Lakhimpur Kheri incident that the law and order situation has completely collapsed in Uttar Pradesh,” he added.

Describing the arrest of Priyanka Vadra in Uttar Pradesh as against democratic values, Rathore stated that the BJP was murdering democracy in the country by taking such steps wherein the state government was preventing political leaders from meeting victims’ families.

Rathore blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for this killing of farmers and further stated that the minister’s son involved in this massacre had made a public threat to crush this movement a few days ago.

But at that time the administration took no action against him and if the UP administration had taken any action on time, the lives of four farmers would have been spared.

He alleged that the massacre was pre-planned and added that the Congress will not allow any kind of injustice to the farmers.

“BJP’s policies have always been anti-farmer in the country and even in Himachal Pradesh, the previous BJP regime in 1996 had opened fire on the protesting farmers in Shimla district where three people were martyred,” he added.

Rathore asserted that Congress was fully prepared to contest by-elections to the Mandi Lok Sabha seat and assembly segments of Arki, Fatehpur and Jubbal-Kotkhai.

The countdown of BJP had started in the state which was evident from Congress party’s win elections to municipal corporations, Zilla Parishad, non-teaching staff and officers in the state universities where party supported candidates secured a spectacular victory.

The winning streak of Congress will start with four by-elections in the state which will continue in 2022 in assembly elections as well, he added.