Expressing his anguish at the incident, he said three aspects of caution must be maintained.
The Uttar Pradesh government should keep the extent, depth and complexity of the issue in mind in its response and not merely treat it as a law and order problem, he said.
The 78-year-old Govindacharya, who is now associated with various causes, also recalled Mahatma Gandhi’s response to the Chauri Chaura incident and asked protesting farmers to try to understand and follow it.
The Chauri Chaura violence had occurred in 1922 after protesters, angry over the death of some of them in police firing, had set fire to a police station, killing its occupants.
Gandhi, who was against violence irrespective of any provocation, had halted the non-cooperation movement after this.
Union minister Ajay Mishra’s son is among those booked in connection with the violence during a farmers’ protest in Lakhimpur Kheri, officials said on Monday as multiple opposition leaders tried to make their way to the Uttar Pradesh district through the night but were prevented from doing so.
Two FIRs were registered a day after clashes claimed the lives of eight people, including four farmers allegedly run over and four people in a convoy of BJP workers who were lynched, the incident propelling Lakhimpur Kheri as a new flashpoint in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.