Watch: Ajay Mishra loses temper on being asked about jailed son, caught on camera abusing journalists

Union minister Ajay Mishra sparked controversy after a video of him abusing and lunging at journalists for asking questions about his jailed son accused of running over farmers in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri surfaced on Wednesday. The video was taken when the minister was inaugurating a child and maternity hospital in Lakhimpur Kheri a day after he visited his son Ashish Mishra in jail, reported News18.

MoS Home Ajay Mishra Teni misbehaves with journalists asking questions. Uses foul language..abuses them and even pushes them around.
Says these media walas are bastards.
Union Minister was in lakhimpur to inaugurate the child and maternity hospital. @CNNnews18 @news18dotcom pic.twitter.com/7hfjSYCPTT

— Qazi Faraz Ahmad (@qazifarazahmad) December 15, 2021

The video showed the minister hurling abuses at reporters and called them ‘chor’ (thieves). He can also be seen pushing a mediaperson. Mishra can be seen losing temper in the video when asked about a probe panel report that said farmers were run over at Lakhimpur Kheri, allegedly by an SUV driven by Ashish Mishra, “with intent to commit murder” and it was “not death by negligence”. The incident occurred at a time when the minister is under increasing pressure to quit over his jailed son. Earlier on Wednesday, the Lok Sabha proceedings was adjourned for the day as the Opposition intensified its demand for Mishra's resignation . This, a day after a Special Investigation Team probing the Lakhimpur Kheri violence termed the 3 October incident a "pre-planned conspiracy" . After the SIT’s move, the farmer leaders have also started mounting pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to dismiss Mishra from his post of Minister of State for Home. The farmer leaders believe that the time has come to remove him from the Union ministry as his son intentionally mowed down the farmers, who were returning to their home after participating in peaceful protests against the three contentious farm laws, which have now been repealed. On Tuesday, the SIT probing the Lakhimpur Kheri violence had told a court that the charges of rash driving against Ashish Mishra and the others should be modified and an attempt to murder charge and the charge of voluntarily causing hurt should be added. Ashish Mishra is among the 13 persons arrested for mowing down four farmers and a journalist when they were returning from a protest. He is currently facing murder and conspiracy charges. The Thar jeep that crushed the farmers belonged to the Union minister. The violence on 3 October had left eight people, including two BJP workers, dead. With inputs from PTI