Yogendra suspended by Farmers' Morcha, accepts collective wisdom

New Delhi: Accepting the Samyukt Kisan Morcha's (SKM) decision to suspend him, activist Yogendra Yadav said that collective wisdom must prevail over individual understanding in any public movement, NDTV reported.

SKM had suspended Yogendra Yadav for visiting the BJP worker's family who got killed in the Lakhimpur incident. He is barred from attending SKM meetings and being part of the front's decision making for a month.

In his statement, he said that the farmers' protest has emerged as a ray of hope for the country, and it is the need of the hour to maintain its unity and decision-making process. But he explained that he decided to visit the family of the deceased because sharing someone's grief, including one's adversaries, is humanitarianism as well as Indian culture.

He believed that as a policy, expressing such sentiments do not weaken but strengthen any mass movement. Though not everyone in the farmers' movement shares his belief, he hopes that the present occasion triggers a collective dialogue on the delicate issue, he said.

He added that he regrets not consulting his colleagues in SKM before he decided to visit the BJP worker's family. Accepting his punishment, he said that he would work more diligently for the success of this historic farmers' movement.

According to the president of Bhartiya Kisan Union, Manjit Singh Raj, Yadav was suspended after several farmer organisations demanded action against him. He said that 32 farmers' unions were against Yadav, and they sought a public apology from him.

Eight people, including four farmers, were killed in Lakhimpur Kheri of Uttar Pradesh after an SUV rammed into a crowd of protesters. The SUV belonged to union minister Ajay Mishra, and his son Ashish Mishra was allegedly present inside the car. Ashish was named in the murder case, and four others were arrested.