Lakhimpur Kheri Violence: Opposition ups ante; Rahul Gandhi denied permission to visit the UP district

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The Yogi Adityanath government continued to prevent politicians from visiting violence-hit Lakhimpur Kheri even as the Opposition steps up attack to corner his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was denied permission on October 6 to visit Kheri where eight people, including four farmers, were killed by a car belonging to Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra during a protest on October 3.

READ Lakhimpur Kheri violence: Video purportedly shows SUV running over farmers, Priyanka Gandhi ups the ante

In a letter written to UP CM Yogi Adityanath, the Congress had said a five-member delegation led by Rahul Gandhi planned to visit the district. But, the permission for the visit was denied soon after with the state government citing orders under Section 144 banning large gatherings, news agency ANI reported.

Rahul Gandhi is expected to address the media in Delhi at 10 am.

This comes after Priyanka Gandhi Vadra alleged that she was being held illegally in Sitapur.

"Presently I am not going into the details of the completely illegal physical force used on my colleagues and me at the time of my arrest as this statement serves merely to clarify the continuing illegality of my confinement at the PAC compound in Sitapur, UP," Vadra said in a statement.

READ: Lakhimpur Kheri Violence | Priyanka Gandhi Vadra says she's not being allowed to meet legal counsel

While the Congress general secretary and UP in-charge has been booked under Section 151 of the CrPC, an FIR was registered against Samajwadi Party president and former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav for “violation of Section 144 (on unlawful assembly)”.

The October 3 violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri has triggered a political slugfest in Uttar Pradesh with the Opposition parties trying to corner the Yogi Adityanath-led government even as the chief minister has promised to punish the guilty.

Police have registered a murder case against Teni's son Ashish Mishra and 13 others over the violence.

On October 5, Congress leader and Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel held a two-hour dharna at Lucknow airport after he was stopped from leaving the premises. A delegation of TMC MPs, though, managed to make its way to Lakhimpur Kheri, claiming to have “dodged” police posing as tourists.

‘I am not going to Lakhimpur where prohibitory orders are in place. I am only going to the Uttar Pradesh Congress office,” Baghel said.

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh was also put under arrest under Section 151 after being kept at a guest house for over 30 hours. NCP chief Sharad Pawar compared the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Also Read | Lakhimpur Kheri violence: BJP will pay a heavy price, says Sharad Pawar

“Whether it is the government at the Centre or in Uttar Pradesh, they are not sensitive. The kind of situation created in Jallianwala Bagh, we are witnessing a similar situation in UP,” Pawar said