Ajay Mishra Teni (born 25 September 1960) is a former Member of Parliament in the 17th Lok Sabha.[1][3] He is the former Minister of State in Ministry of Home affairs, Government of India. He represents the Kheri constituency of Uttar Pradesh and is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party political party.[4][5][6]
Ajay Mishra Teni | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of State for Home Affairs | |
| In office 8 July 2021 – 11 June 2024 Serving with Nityanand Rai and N. Pramanik | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Minister | Amit Shah |
| Preceded by | G. Kishan Reddy |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| In office 16 May 2014 – 4 June 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Zafar Ali Naqvi |
| Succeeded by | Utkarsh Verma |
| Constituency | Kheri |
| MLA, 16th Legislative Assembly | |
| In office March 2012 – May 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Krishna Gopal Patel |
| Succeeded by | Krishna Gopal Patel |
| Constituency | Nighasan (Assembly constituency) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 September 1960[1] Lakhimpur Kheri district[1] |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party[1] |
| Spouse | Pushpa Mishra |
| Children | 3 (Ashish Mishra, 1 other son, and 1 daughter) |
| Parent | Ambika Prasad Mishra (father)[1] |
| Residence(s) | Vill. & Post Banveerpur, Nighasan, Lakhimpur Kheri (Uttar Pradesh) |
| Alma mater | Kanpur University's Christ Church College, Kanpur (B.Sc.) DAV College, Kanpur (LLB)[2] |
| Profession | Politician and businessperson |
Early life and education
editMishra was born in Banveer Pur village in Lakhimpur Kheri district.[7] He attended the Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University's Christ Church College, Kanpur and DAV College, Kanpur and received Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Laws degrees.[3][1]
Political career
editIn 2012, Mishra was elected as MLA in the 16th Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh from Nighasan.[1][6][3] Mishra has won the Lok Sabha elections from Kheri constituency in 2014 and 2019, as a member of Bharatiya Janata Party.[citation needed]
In September 2014, he was appointed a Member of the Standing Committee on Rural Development. In July 2021, he became Minister of State in the Ministry Of Home Affairs in the Second Modi ministry after the Cabinet reshuffle.[8]
Criminal cases
edit1990s
editIn the year 1990, a criminal case was registered against Mishra under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace).[7]
In 1996, Mishra was named a History-sheeter in the records at Tikonia police station. After a few months, the sheet was closed.[7][9][10]
Prabhat Gupta murder case
editIn 2000, in the Tikonia area of Lakhimpur Kheri district, 23-year-old Prabhat Gupta was shot dead. Mishra was named in the FIR of the case.[7] Mishra was fired upon during the hearing of this case, thus injuring him. The shooter managed to escape successfully and was never identified.[11]
Mishra was acquitted in 2004. The victim's family have filed an appeal against the acquittal in the Allahabad High Court. The appeal case is ongoing. This case that included a serious charge of murder under IPC section 302, was disclosed by Mishra in his election affidavit submitted to the Election commission before the 2014 Lok Sabha election.[7]
2005
editIn an election affidavit submitted to the Election commission before the 2012 UP assembly election Mishra had declared a criminal case as "Crime no. 92/2005, Case No. 3592/07, 3593/07, court taken cognizance". Mishra was charged with five sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) 147 (punishment for rioting), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 452 (House-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint).[7]
Lakhimpur Kheri violence
editThe 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest was organised against three farm acts which were passed by the BJP-led Union Government in the BJP controlled Parliament of India in September 2020.
In September 2021, Teni was attending an event in the Palia town of the Lakhimpur Kheri district. During the event, the farmers had shown black flags as a sign of protest. Teni had threatened the farmers in his speech saying, "Sudhar jao, nahi toh hum aapko sudhaar denge, do minute lagega keval" (You better mend your ways, or we will teach you a lesson, it will only take a couple of minutes.) Tajinder Singh Virk, a farmer leader, later organised a protest against Teni's upcoming visit, in response to this threat.[12] On 3 October, BJP leaders Teni and Keshav Prasad Maurya had planned to attend an event in the area.[12]
On 3 October 2021, Ajay Kumar Mishra's son, Ashish Mishra, allegedly ran his car over farmers protesting in Lakhimpur Kheri. Farmer groups alleged that at least four farmers and a journalist were killed and several others injured, after they were deliberately run over by a car that was part of the convoy of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs and BJP MP Ajay Kumar Mishra.[13] Three members of the Minister’s convoy were killed in the mob lynching by the protesting farmers following the car-ramming incident.[14] Eight people died and more than ten were injured.[15] Ajay Kumar Mishra's son, Ashish Mishra, denied the charge and tried to evade police questioning.[16] The Indian Supreme court expressed its displeasure against the lack of action against the accused in the case.[17][18] After this, he was interrogated, and arrested by Uttar Pradesh Police on 9 October 2021.[19]
On 15 December 2021, on being questioned about his son's involvement in the incident and new charges being recommended against his son, Ajay Mishra hurled abuses at reporters and reportedly lunged at a journalist. He further demanded that they stop filming and recording him.[20]
Calls for removal from Home ministry post
editOn 26 November 2021 the Delhi Legislative Assembly passed a resolution demanding the sacking of MoS Ajay Misra from his post of Minister of State.[21][22]
Several opposition leaders and farmer groups have questioned why Teni has not been removed from his post and asked PM Modi to sack Teni; while others have also demanded his arrest. Modi has not responded to these calls.[23] On 8 November, a lawyer through his submission, informed the Supreme court that the accused of Lakhimpur Kheri incident were "at large roaming scot-free" as they "wielded the thunderbolt of police power through political clout."[note 1][23]
Notes
edit- ^ Ajay Mishra Teni holds the post of the minister of state for Home Affairs in Narendra Modi cabinet. The Home Ministry is the cadre controlling authority for the Indian Police Service.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "Member Profile". Legislative Assembly official website. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
- ^ "Shri Ajay Kumar Mishra | Ministry of Home Affairs | GoI".
- ^ a b c "Candidate affidavit". My neta.info. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
- ^ "2012 Election Results" (PDF). Election Commission of India website. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
- ^ "All MLAs from constituency". elections.in. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
- ^ a b "Member Lok Sabha Profile". Lok Sabha website. Archived from the original on 15 January 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f "Who Was Ajay Mishra Before He Became a Legislator?". The Wire. 18 October 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ "Modi cabinet rejig: Full list of new ministers". India Today. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
- ^ Kashyap, co-authored by Jatinder Kaur Tur, Sunil. "Murder, witness intimidation: The many allegations against Ajay Mishra Teni". The Caravan. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Ajay Mishra and Mukhtar Ansari: The Saga of UP's Political Cocktail of Crime and Communalism". The Wire. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
- ^ Pandey, Neelam; Srivastava, Prashant (6 October 2021). "MoS Ajay Mishra — Lakhimpur Kheri strongman who 'delivers justice on the spot'". ThePrint. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ a b Tur, Jatinder Kaur. "I was definitely targeted in the Lakhimpur violence: Farmer leader Tajinder Singh Virk". The Caravan. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ "Lakhimpur violence: Opposition leaders barred from town". BBC News. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
- ^ Rashid, Omar; Singh, Vijaita (3 October 2021). "Four farmers killed as car in Union Minister's convoy runs amok in Uttar Pradesh". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
- ^ "Eight killed in violence during protest against ministers in UP's Lakhimpur Kheri: Police". Hindustan Times. 3 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
- ^ "Lakhimpur Kheri: India minister's son evades police questioning". BBC News. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- ^ "Lakhimpur Kheri incident: SC slams UP government over delay in arrest of Ashish Mishra". Hindustan Times. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ Roy, Debayan. "Lakhimpur Kheri Uttar Pradesh massacre: "Action of UP govt only in words:" Supreme Court unhappy with probe". Bar and Bench - Indian Legal news. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ "Lakhimpur Kheri violence: Union minister's son arrested after 11 hours of questioning | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. 9 October 2021.
- ^ "Video: Minister Ajay Mishra Lunges At Reporter For Referencing Jailed Son". NDTV.com. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
- ^ Mehra, Sushant (26 November 2021). "Delhi Assembly passes resolution demanding removal of MoS Ajay Misra over Lakhimpur Kheri case". India Today. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ "Assembly passes resolution condemning farm laws". The Hindu. 27 November 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ a b "Why Teni's continuation in office negates the idea of a fair probe in Lakhimpur deaths". The Caravan. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
