After getting sidelined by the BJP from its national executive committee, BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Thursday shared an old video clip of a speech of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee from 1980 in which he is seen warning the Indira Gandhi government against suppressing the farmers and extending his support to them.
In the video, Mr Vajpayee is seen warning the government against intimidating the farmers.
"Wise words from a big-hearted leader....,” tweeted Varun Gandhi.
Mr Vajpayee in the video is heard saying to a gathering that farmers cannot be frightened. "We support their genuine demands and if the government tries to suppress (farmers), misuse laws and repress a peaceful agitation, then we will not shy away from joining the farmers' struggle and standing with them.”
"... warn the government against intimidating farmers. Don't try to scare us... Farmers are not going to be scared. We don't want to use the farmers' movement for politics..." Mr Vajpayee added to his speech in the video.
Pilibhit MP was recently not given a place in BJP's National Executive this month after he called for justice for those farmers who died during the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in Uttar Pradesh. He has been sympathetic to the farmer's cause over their protests against the centre's farm laws which didn't go well with the top leadership of the party.
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And now Varun Gandhi sharing Vajpayee's speech is seen as his message to the Central government and looks like he is no sooner taking a back step from criticising the BJP.
Varun Gandhi had also sought stringent action against those who are connected with the death of the four farmers after the vehicle of the union minister ran over them.
He is the only BJP leader who has spoken on the Lakhimpur Kheri issue, in which the son of junior Home Minister Ajay Mishra, Ashish Mishra, is accused of killing four farmers by running his car over them.
Mr Gandhi has also demanded "accountability" and written to the UP CM Yogi Adityanath urging a CBI probe into the case and ₹ 1 crore compensation for the dead farmers' families.
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Last week, Mr Gandhi tweeted a video of the black SUV ramming through a group of protestors from behind who were walking holding black flags peacefully and termed it a "murder" and said what is seen in the video is enough to "shake the soul".
Farmers have been protesting against the centre’s three farm laws for over a year now and amid the backdrop, the country has witnessed several series of bitter clashes between the ruling BJP and opposition parties.