BJP president J P Nadda announced the 80-member National Executive of the party on Thursday, with the names of its top brass, ranging from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to many Union ministers, several state leaders and veterans like L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi figuring on the list.

However, BJP MP Varun Gandhi, mother Maneka Gandhi were removed from the top BJP body. It is, perhaps, after Varun Gandhi’s tweets and statements condemning farmers’ killing in UP.

The executive is a key deliberative body of the party which meets to discuss key issues facing the government and shapes the organisation’s agenda. The disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has prevented its meeting for a long time.

Meanwhile, Varun Gandhi again on Thursday posted a video purportedly of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident and said the protesters cannot be silenced through murder asking for accountability for the farmers.

“The video is crystal clear. Protestors cannot be silenced through murder. There has to be accountability for the innocent blood of farmers that has been spilled and justice must be delivered before a message of arrogance and cruelty enters the minds of every farmer,” the Pilibhit MP said in a tweet.

He posted a 37-second video in which a speeding Mahindra Thar jeep is seen running over people. Two SUVs — one black and another white — was seen following the jeep while there is commotion of people shouting and crying in the video.

The video, which has gone viral on social medial, is said to have been taken on October 3, the day on which violence took place in Lakhimpur Kheri.

Eight people were killed in the violence on Sunday. Of the eight killed, four were farmers, who were allegedly mowed down by vehicles driven by BJP workers travelling to welcome UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to an event in the area.

With inputs from PTI