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In Lakhimpur Kheri, Priyanka Gandhi attends last prayers for killed farmers
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited Lakhimpur Kheri along with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi Bhupesh Baghel, Charanjit Singh Channi and Deepender Hooda and met families of deceased farmers on October 6.
In Lakhimpur Kheri where the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Tuesday held the “antim ardas” for the four farmers killed in the October 3 violence, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took part in the prayer meeting. Wearing a grey salwar-kurta, Priyanka Gandhi was seen with her hands folded in front of the photographs of the four farmers and bowing before a stage with the Guru Granth Sahab in videos tweeted by her party.
Priyanka Gandhi’s visit to Tikunia came as Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leaders said that no politician will be allowed to share the dais with farmer leaders during the last prayers for the four farmers. "No political leader will be allowed to share the stage where only Samyukta Kisan Morcha leaders will be present,” BKU-Tikait district vice-president Balkar Singh was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. The SKM is an umbrella body of farmers’ unions spearheading the protests against the Centre’s three contentious farm laws, which were enacted last year.
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Before this. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited Lakhimpur Kheri along with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Deepender Hooda and met families of deceased farmers on October 6. Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Jayant Chaudhary was scheduled to go to Lakhimpur Kheri but was not allowed to leave the airport in Bareilly.
Security has been tightened in and around Tikunia to maintain law and order during the "antim ardas" programme. Apart from the Lakhimpur Kheri police, Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), Rapid Action Force and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel have been deployed. Senior police and administrative authorities have been deputed to supervise and coordinate the security arrangements.
Inspector general of police (Lucknow range) Lakshmi Singh, who is camping in Lakhimpur Kheri, said, “We are in touch with the family members of those killed in the Tikunia incident and local farm leaders. They have assured us that antim ardas will be held in a peaceful manner. An ample number of local police and PAC personnel has been deployed in the area to ensure law and order.”
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Meanwhile, the Congress said that a party delegation led by Rahul Gandhi will meet President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday over the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. The party wrote to the Rashtrapati Bhavan on October 10 seeking an appointment with the President for a seven-member party delegation to meet him. The delegation will present a detailed memorandum of facts in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, AK Antony, Mallikarjun Kharge, KC Venugopal, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will accompany Rahul Gandhi.
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As many as eight people, including the four farmers, died in the violence that took place in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3. The SKM alleged that Ashish Mishra, the 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 them down. The allegation has been denied by the Union minister as well as Ashish Mishra, who was arrested last Saturday. A nine-member special investigation team, headed by deputy inspector general of police (headquarters) Upendra Agarwal, has been formed to investigate the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.
