India: At least 8 people killed in farmers' protest

Indian news agencies have reported that eight people lost their lives when a farmers' protest in Lakhimpur Kheri, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, took a violent turn.

According to reports, two SUVs allegedly rammed into a group of protesters during a visit by the state's Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and Union Minister Ajay Kumar Mishra.

What do we know?

Citing a local police official, Indian news outlet NDTV reported that four of the eight killed were farmers, two having been run over by a vehicle in the union minister's convoy.

NDTV reported that the four other deaths were the occupants of the vehicle that had allegedly drove into the farmers.

The circumstances surrounding the incident are unclear with differing versions of events.

The farmers, who had assembled in opposition to the visit of the BJP politicians in the district, said the violence started after vehicles in the convoy ran over protesters. Images on social media also showed some of the vehicles set on fire.

Government promises action

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said he was "saddened" by the violence, promising an investigation and to punish anyone found responsible. 

The BJP politician, often seen as PM Modi’s close associate, made an appeal to maintain peace.

However, opposition parties are skeptical. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was reportedly detained by authorities in Uttar Pradesh early Monday as she headed to meet the families of four farmers killed

The opposition party had put out an appeal to supporters to gather in Sitapur, where the leader was stopped.

Farmer unions look to amp up pressure

A nine-member coordination team from the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of nearly 40 farmers' unions, addressed the media late Sunday, calling for legal action to be taken against those involved in the farmers' deaths. 

They also called for the dismissal of central minister Mishra, who had given an incendiary speech against protesting farmers days earlier.

Protests erupted in September 2020 after Modi's Hindu nationalist BJPintroduced three agricultural bills , presenting them as a watershed moment for Indian agriculture. 

The government said the changes would give farmers the freedom to sell their produce anywhere in the country and enter into contracts with unlicensed buyers at a pre-agreed price.

However farmers believe the laws will leave smaller farming operations exposed and at the mercy of larger companies. They want the laws repealed.

The farmers have been picketing over new farming laws since September last year, reaching the borders of the national capital New Delhi in November 2020.