Do I need visa?: Chhattisgarh CM lashes out after UP govt stops him from going to Lakhimpur Kheri
Several opposition leaders, including Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, were also scheduled to visit Lakhimpur Kheri during the day.
Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday lashed out at the Uttar Pradesh government after it urged authorities at the airport in Lucknow not to allow him and Punjab deputy CM Sukhjinder S Randhawa to land ahead of their scheduled visit to Lakhimpur Kheri. Baghel questioned the order and asked whether civil rights have been suspended in Uttar Pradesh. "The government of Uttar Pradesh is issuing an order not to allow me to come to the state. Have civil rights been suspended in Uttar Pradesh? If Section 144 is in place in Lakhimpur, then why is the dictatorial government stopping someone from landing in Lucknow?" Baghel tweeted in Hindi.
“Why are people being stopped from visiting Lakhimpur Kheri? Section 144 has been imposed in Lakhimpur Kheri then why isn't one allowed to land in Lucknow? Do people no longer have rights in UP? Does one need a visa to visit UP?” the Chhattisgarh chief minister also told news agency ANI.
Additional chief secretary (home department), Awanish Awasthi, wrote to Lucknow airport authorities saying that the district magistrate of Lakhimpur Kheri has imposed section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which prohibits assembly of five or more people at a time, and requested them not to allow the arrival of Baghel and Randhawa.
Also read | Lakhimpur Kheri violence: Union min Ajay Mishra, son booked for murder
Several opposition leaders, including Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, were also scheduled to visit Lakhimpur Kheri during the day. Police have said that as many as eight people died in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident on Sunday. They include four farmers and four occupants of the vehicles that allegedly ran over the farmers, who were protesting against the three central farm laws.
The Congress party has said that Priyanka Gandhi has been arrested in Hargaon and Akhilesh Yadav was taken into custody as he was staging a sit-in protest in Lucknow. Baghel also alleged that Priyanka Gandhi, who was on her way to Uttar Pradesh Lakhimpur Kheri district to visit the families of the victims, has been arrested in Hargaon.
Also read | Missing local journalist among victims of violence in Lakhimpur Kheri
"AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been arrested in Sitapur on his way to Lakhimpur. Deepender Hooda is also with him. After the killing of the farmers, now the democratic rights of the people are also being snatched away," he tweeted.
Also watch | ‘Warrant nikalo’: How Priyanka Gandhi fought with cops on way to Lakhimpur Kheri
Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of several farmers’ unions, alleged that Ashish Mishra Teni, son of Union minister of state for home affairs Ajay Mishra Teni arrived with three vehicles around the time that farmers were dispersing from their protest and mowed down farmers. They also attacked SKM leader Tajinder Singh Virk by trying to run a vehicle over him.
However, Mishra has refuted SKM's allegations and said his son was not present at the spot where the incident took place. Mishra, his son and others have been booked by the police for murder based on a complaint lodged by farmers.
