Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday demanded a probe by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court or a high court into the Lakhimpur Kheri violence and said Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra, whose son is among those booked, should resign to ensure an impartial probe.
It also clarified that it did not take up the Lakhimpur violence case suo motu as a plea was registered by two lawyers — Shiv Kumar Tripathi and C S Panda. "I think there is a communication problem," CJI N V Ramana said.
The Uttar Pradesh government has constituted a one-member commission to probe the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in which eight people were killed last Sunday, a senior official has informed.
Lakhimpur Kheri violence Incident Live News:
On Sunday, four farmers were among eight persons killed in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri after a convoy of three SUVs, including one owned by Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra, hit a group of farmer protesters leading to a clash. Farm leaders, local residents and sources in the Uttar Pradesh Police told The Indian Express this was a "flare-up" waiting to happen after days of tension sparked by "provocative" gestures and remarks by Mishra aimed at protesting farmers.
The mortal remains of three farmers was cremated at their native places on Tuesday, while the family of the fourth one demanded a second post-mortem. The families of Lavpreet Singh (19), Nachattar Singh (65) and Daljeet Singh (42) agreed to the cremation after hours of negotiations involving police officials and farm leader Rakesh Tikait. But the family of Gurvinder Singh (22) of Matera tehsil refused to cremate him till a second autopsy is done as they alleged he was shot dead.
Also read: How deal between farmers, police was reached, keeping Tikait in front
Priyanka Gandhi arrested while trying to go to Lakhimpur Kheri
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and 10 others were arrested on Tuesday. The Sitapur police said it was to "prevent the commission of cognizable offences". Other than Priyanka, those arrested included Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda, UP Congress state president Ajay Kumar Lallu and party MLC Deepak Singh. The arrests were made under Section 151 (arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offences) of the CrPC.
Vadra said she had received “no further communication regarding the circumstances or the reasons”, neither had the UP Police or administration informed her of “the Sections under which I have been charged” or shown her the FIR till 6:30 pm Tuesday.
Also read: Opposition steps up attack; TMC gets in as ‘tourists’
Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday arrested two people after questioning them in connection with Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. Union minister Ajay Mishra’s son, Ashish, has also been asked to appear before the police at 10 am on Friday.
A group of Congress workers led by the party's Uttar Pradesh unit president Ajay Kumar Lallu staged a protest outside the Raj Bhawan here on Thursday, raising slogans against the state government over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which eight people, including four farmers, were killed.
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A party spokesperson said their request for an appoint with Governor Anandiben Patel to hand over a memorandum was initially not acceded to, prompting the workers to stage the demonstration. Later, a five-member delegation which included Lallu, MLA Aradhana Mishra and MLC Deepak Singh was allowed to meet the Governor for handing over the memorandum, Congress spokesman Anshu Awasthi said. --PTI
Rajasthan Congress workers led by state unit president Govind Singh Dotasra on Thursday held a demonstration in Bharatpur district against central and Uttar Pradesh governments over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. Earlier, Congress workers planned to march to Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri to protest the detention of party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra but dropped the idea after she was released.
"The march from Uncha Nangla to Lakhimpur Kheri was planned because Priyanka Gandhi was under detention. Now she has been released and she has met the families (of those killed in the violence) there so we dropped the plan to march to Lakhimpur Kheri," Dotasra told PTI. --PTI
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that the BJP leaders and their sons "have started to feel that farmers should be crushed by vehicles to deal with the agrarian movement".
A farmer was injured after allegedly being hit by a car that was part of the cavalcade of BJP’s Kurukshetra MP Nayab Singh Saini at Naraingarh in Ambala district of Haryana on Thursday.
The incident took place when the farmers had gathered at Naraingarh after receiving information regarding the arrival of Saini and Haryana Sports Minister Sandeep Singh. The farmers were protesting against the three contentious farm laws.
Saini, meanwhile, has claimed that no person was injured after being hit by his cavalcade, alleging that the protesters attacked his car. Read more
BSP supremo Mayawati said on Thursday that there is hope for justice in the Lakhimpur violence case as the Supreme Court has intervened in the matter and sought a status report from the Uttar Pradesh government. She said a delegation of the BSP led by party general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP SC Mishra will be meeting the families of the farmers killed in the October 3 violence in Lakhimpur Kheri.
"The hearing started by the Supreme Court in the Lakhimpur incident gave hope to the people for relief and proper justice, as the attitude of the BJP government in this matter appeared mostly biased," Mayawati said in a tweet in Hindi. Her remarks came a few hours after the Supreme Court on Thursday sought a status report by Friday from the Uttar Pradesh government on the accused named by the police in the FIR and whether they have been arrested. --PTI
Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday said Union minister Ajay Mishra’s son, Ashish, has been summoned for questioning in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. Talking to media, Lucknow IG Laxmi Singh said, “We have summoned him (Ashish Mishra) for questioning. We will record his statement, on the basis of which we will collect evidence.” Two other people are also being quizzed, she added.
Dharna outside the residence of Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal entered Day 3 on Thursday.
Navjot Singh Sidhu, along with other Congress leaders, who were part of a vehicle march to Lakhimpur Kheri, have been detained at Shahjahanpur police picket after their convoy was stopped at the Haryana-UP border. They are now sitting on a dharna at the site.
Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu’s convoy en route to Lakhimpur Kheri was stopped at Haryana-UP border on Thursday. He was leading a vehicular march to the district to protest against the violence that took place last Sunday. Before leaving for Lakhimpur Kheri, Sidhu said, “If the accused (in the case) is not arrested or does not join the investigation, I will sit on hunger strike, wherever I am.”
Hours after BJP MP Varun Gandhi condemned the incident in Lakhimpur Kheri, in which a Union Minister’s convoy ran over and killed four protesting farmers, he was removed from the BJP National Executive. Gandhi on Thursday called for “accountability for the innocent blood of farmers” as he posted a purported video of the incident. When BJP president J P Nadda announced the 80-member National Executive of the party later in the day, Gandhi’s name was absent. The National Executive comprises the party’s top leaders, who meet to discuss key issues facing the government and shapes the organisation’s agenda. Read More
“Hum kya karte (What could we have done)?” says the father of Gurvinder Singh, having just cremated the 18-year-old, after a second post-mortem concluded he had died after coming under the wheels of one of the cars that ploughed into protesting farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri. “Whatever the doctors have said, we have to make peace with it, because we are not doctors. But goli toh lagi thi (he had definitely been shot),” Sukhvinder Singh adds.
The 48-year-old, who owns around 4 bighas of farm land in Mohraniya Navipur village in Bahraich, says: “We saw the body and it was clear he had a gunshot injury. He had an exit wound on the back of his head and entry wound on the right side of his forehead. But the second post-mortem report also says he didn’t suffer a gunshot injury, and death was accidental. How can we believe that when all the eyewitnesses are saying he was shot by someone called Monu (Union Minister of StateB for Home Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish)? Not one, but all of them.” (Read Asad Rehman's report)
Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday appointed Justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava, a retired Allahabad High Court judge, to investigate the death of eight persons in Lakhimpur Kheri last Sunday. In a notification issued by the state home department, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi said that the one-man commission has to complete the enquiry within two months from the date of the issue of the notification. Read More
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday demanded a probe by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court or a high court into the Lakhimpur Kheri violence and said Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra, whose son is among those booked, should resign to ensure an impartial probe.
Priyanka Gandhi, who had on Wednesday met the families of three of the eight people killed in the violence, told reporters here, "In my view and that of the victims' families as well, the case should be probed by a sitting Supreme Court or high court judge, and not the retired judge." The Uttar Pradesh government has constituted a one-member commission of retired high court judge Pradeep Kumar Srivastava to probe the violence during a farmers' protest rally that claimed eight lives on Sunday. Before leaving for Bahraich, Priyanka Gandhi said, "I don't want to comment on the probe as it has not started yet. But I can say that for unbiased probe, the minister should resign as he has the Home portfolio and all this comes under him." (PTI)
Punjab Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu threatened to go on a hunger strike from tomorrow if the accused in the Lakhimpur case are not arrested. “If the accused is not arrested or does not join the investigation, I will sit on hunger strike, wherever I am,” he added. He is leading a march to protest against the incident on Thursday.
The Supreme Court, on Thursday, asked the Uttar Pradesh government to file a status report regarding the accused in the Lakhimpur violence case and whether any action had been taken against them. “We need to know who are the accused against whom you have registered FIR & whether you have arrested them or not,” the court said.
Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday said Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra's son has not yet been arrested in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case even though evidence pointed to his role in the incident.
"As fingers are raised towards MoS (Ajay Mishra) in the BJP government, the accused in Lakhimpur case are not yet sent to jail," Yadav, who is visiting Lakhimpur to meet the aggrieved families, told reporters here outside his residence. "Those named in the FIR should go to jail. Government should take immediate action and the matter should be probed by a sitting judge of the High Court. There are videos clips, statements of eyewitnesses, the statement (of minister) in which he is threatening. As he (accused Ashish Mishra) is the son of the MoS, action has note been taken yet," he said. "Do you think farmers can get justice till he (father of accused) is MoS?" he asked. (PTI)
The Supreme Court, on Monday, clarified that it did not take up the Lakhimpur violence case suo motu as a plea was registered by two lawyers — Shiv Kumar Tripathi and C S Panda. "I think there is a communication problem", CJI N V Ramana said.
Following the constitution of a one-member commission to probe the violence and deaths at Lakhimpur Kheri, Union minister Kaushal Kishore said on Monday: “The affected families will certainly get justice. The government has ordered an investigation into the case. The families have also accepted the financial assistance provided to them by the government.”
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who met the family member of those killed during the violence at Lakhimpur Kheri last Sunday, said: “Justice is a right in a democracy. I will continue my fight for justice. All the affected families I met yesterday only demanded justice. The Union Minister needs to resign to ensure an unbiased investigation.”
The Uttar Pradesh government has constituted a one-member Commission to probe the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in which eight people were killed, a senior Home Department official said on Thursday.
"A notification for the constitution of the Commission has been issued. The commission has been given two months’ time to probe the matter," the official said. "In exercise of the powers conferred by section 3 of the Commissions of Enquiry Act, 1952 (Act no. 60 of 1952), the Governor is pleased to appoint Justice High Court, Allahabad (retd) Pradeep Kumar Srivastava as a single-member Commission of enquiry with Headquarters at Lakhimpur Kheri," the notification dated October 6 said. "The Commission shall complete the enquiry within a period of two months from the date of the issue of this notification. Any change in its tenure shall be at the behest of the Government," it added. (PTI)
BJP MP Varun Gandhi has aske the UP government to hold accountable those responsible for the murder of the farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri. "Protestors can't be silenced through murder. There has to be accountability for innocent blood of farmers that has been spilled & justice must be delivered...," he said.
Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Wednesday thanked the Chief Justice of India after the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident and said courts in India are temples of justice that can restore the faith of the voiceless. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana is scheduled to hear the matter on Thursday.
"Thank the Chief Justice of India for deciding to take up the matter suo motu. This is the need of the hour. This and courts in India are the temples of justice that can restore the faith of the voiceless who most often feel orphaned," Sibal tweeted. Responding to Sibal's tweet, Congress leader and lawyer Vivek Tankha said, "Yes kapil ji. After such savagery if there is no action it's a blot on our democracy and Justice delivery system."
Calling the Lakhimpur Kheri incident “shameful”, BJP leader and former Union minister Chaudhary Birender Singh said “it should not be taken lightly” as it was “not spontaneous, and there are facts which hint at it being a planned act”.
“I have been stating since the beginning (of the farmers’ protest) that any untoward incident may take place if any agitation continues for long. I see the Lakhimpur incident in two ways — one the politicians are in election mode there (in Uttar Pradesh) and second, there is competition between each-other to take benefit of it. This incident should not be taken lightly because it is not spontaneous. There are facts in it (which hints that) the act was done in a planned manner,” Singh said. Read More
The deaths in Lakhimpur Kheri are giving the BJP some anxious moments ahead of the coming Assembly elections in a district where it had swept all the eight seats in the 2017 state polls. That had been a major jump from 2012, when the party had won just one seat in this district in Uttar Pradesh’s Terai belt, with strong links to farming and a substantial Sikh population.
The largest district of UP, Lakhimpur Kheri is dominated by Brahmins, followed by Muslims and Kurmis among non-Yadav OBCs. It is 80% rural with a majority of the population surviving on sugarcane farming. Many of the farmers are prosperous Sikhs belonging to families settled in this fertile region post-Partition. The BJP fears the spillover effect of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence will also be felt in bordering districts such as Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Sitapur and Bahraich, where too the party had made impressive gains in 2017. Of the 42 Assembly seats in these six districts, the BJP had won 37. Read our Explainer here
In Lakhimpur Kheri, there are echoes of Sikh identity politics, the organic kinship and alliance with Punjab’s farmers and the persecution of minorities in caste-ridden Uttar Pradesh. The Lakhimpur Kheri incident is less a clash between anti and pro-farmer protesters and more about the age-old issues of patchy governance and the religious-caste outrage of dominant Hindu upper-castes. This was seen in the latter’s reaction to the Sikh farmer protesters and the death of eight people.
Lakhimpur Kheri is home to the largest Sikh population in UP (6.43 lakh out of the district’s total population of 40.21 lakh). The region is also known as “mini Punjab”, and the farmers of these Sikh families have supported the farmer protests from the beginning. The anti-farmer protesters (mainly the Hindu upper-caste community in the region) have already labelled these Sikh farmers as radicals. Read Pramod Kumar's Opinion
The nephew of late former Congress Rajya Sabha member Akhilesh Das was in one of the three SUVs which allegedly ran over protesting farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri on Sunday, according to claims made by an eyewitness in a new video that emerged on Wednesday.
Police are verifying the authenticity of the video. In the video, believed to be shot soon after the incident, a police officer is seen asking questions to an injured man. The man claims to be in the same SUV as Ankit Das, a businessman from Lucknow and nephew of the former MP, who is allegedly close to the family of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra. (Read Manish Sahu's report)
With the Uttar Pradesh Government granting permission to political parties to visit Lakhimpur Kheri, where eight people, including four farmers, were killed on Sunday, Congress leaders Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, accompanied by the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Chhattisgarh and other party leaders, on Wednesday met some of the families of the victims.
Late Wednesday night, the Congress leaders visited the family of Lovepreet Singh, a 19-year-old farmer killed on Sunday, at their home in Palia tehsil of the district and offered condolences. After spending about half an hour there, the Congress team left for Nighasan tehsil to meet the family of journalist Raman Kashyap, who was among the victims. Their last stop in the district is expected to be the home of Nachatar Singh, a 55-year-old farmer from Dhauraha tehsil who too was killed on Sunday. Read our report
Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) leader Tajinder Singh Virk, who was seriously injured in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, said Wednesday that he “heard gunshots” before losing consciousness, after being hit by one of the three vehicles that ploughed into a group of protesters Sunday, killing four farmers.
Virk said that Union MoS Ajay Mishra’s son, Ashish Mishra, was driving one of those vehicles — and that he was targeted for leading the protest that day against the Minister’s remarks about farmers the previous week. Virk, who heads Terai Kisan Sangathan, was admitted in Medanta hospital in Gurgaon at 4 am Monday and underwent surgery for a skull fracture. The condition of the 47-year-old, who also suffered injuries on the face and spine, is now stable. Read More
Police are yet to give out details on how journalist Raman Kashyap died in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence on Sunday. The family says no FIR has been filed, despite their complaint, neither have they got a copy of his post-mortem report.
However, going by the marks on Kashyap’s body, they believe he was among the ones who came under the wheels when a convoy of vehicles of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish rammed into protesting farmers in Tikunia. Police have identified four of the eight killed as farmers who were crushed under the convoy. Kashyap, 35, figures among the rest. Kashyap’s brother Pawan, 32, says they were shocked that some “bikau (sold-out)” channels were trying to “distort” what had happened. “The video that is viral (of the car running into the protesters) shows everything. My brother died after he was crushed by the SUVs. His body had car wheel marks. It can be seen clearly how it happened. There is no doubt how he died. It was because he was crushed by the minister’s son’s cars,” he says. (Read Asad Rehman's report)
After meeting the kin of 19-year-old Lovepreet Singh, who died at Lakhimpur Kheri, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said their 'satyagrah' (fight for truth) would continue till the victims get justice. "Met the family of martyr Lovepreet, shared their sorrow. But till justice is served, satyagrah will continue. We will not forget your sacrifice, Lovepreet," the Congress leader tweeted in Hindi.
BJP leader and Trinamool Congress turncoat Sabyasachi Dutta, who had not been seen in party activities in the past few months after his defeat in the assembly election, on Wednesday described as "barbaric" the death of farmers under the wheels of a car during a protest in Uttar Pradesh.
The leaders who are responding mildly to the Lakhimpur Kheri incident are actually condoning it, Dutta claimed, without naming anyone.
"Mowing down people under the wheels of a car is barbaric and cannot be simply passed off as an accident. Whoever has done it should be found out and punished," the former TMC MLA told reporters.
"Those giving mild responses to such a barbaric act seem to be condoning such acts. I strongly denounce such mindsets," Dutta, who is state BJP secretary, said when asked to comment on the party national vice-president Dilip Ghosh's reaction to the incident. (PTI)
Senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Wednesday said he was detained along with Acharya Pramod Krishnam by the police in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh when they were on their way to meet the families of the four farmers killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.
Speaking with PTI, Pilot said all through their road journey from Delhi they were stopped at multiple checkpoints, posed several questions by the police and were eventually detained and taken to a guest house in Moradabad.
"We have broken no law, we were merely going to meet the families of the farmer victims and the intention was to bring peace and calm in the area. People who are named in the FIR are not being questioned or detained but people who are going to share the sorrow and wipe the tears of people are being detained," the former Rajasthan deputy chief minister said.
"This evening @AcharyaPramodk ji & I were detained in Moradabad while on route to Lakhimpur Kheri. We didn't break any provisions of the law. These undemocratic steps of UP Govt will not deter us," he said in a tweet.
"We'll raise our voice for justice for the deceased farmers & their families," Pilot said. (PTI)
Congress leaders Rahul Gandi and Priyanka Gandhi on Wednesday met families of the victims who were killed in the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri.
Earlier in the day, Priyanka had left for Lakhimpur Kheri after being released from detention. Rahul had left for the place from the Lucknow airport in his own vehicle after staging a brief 'dharna' on initially being asked to travel in a police vehicle.
Gurvinder Singh alias Gyaniji, one of the four farmers killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, was cremated Wednesday after a second autopsy was conducted on him as demanded by his family, police said.
Family members of the 22-year-old, who was from Moharia village of Bahraich district, had earlier refused to cremate him, claiming he was shot dead but the post-mortem report had no mention of it.
They had received the support from farmer leader Rakesh Tikait and Punjabi singer Sonia Maan.
With the Uttar Pradesh government agreeing to their demand, a second post-mortem was conducted Tuesday night by a team of experts from Lucknow, Superintendent of Police Sujata Singh said.
Hours later, Gurvinder Singh was cremated by his family members at his village in the presence of Tikait, ADG (Gorakhpur) Akhil Kumar and senior police and administration officials, Additional Superintendent of Police (Rural) Ashok Kumar said.
The post-mortem report will be prepared under the supervision of the experts who conducted it, SP Singh said. District Magistrate Dinesh Chandra Singh said the family members of Gurvinder Singh had raised objections on the post-mortem done earlier. (PTI)
Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday said that a party delegation will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and request him to ensure that exemplary action is taken against those involved in the killing of farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri.
Badal said the SAD has already written to Shah seeking time for the meeting and that he will lead the party delegation.
Talking to reporters here, the SAD president said that a separate party delegation will also meet Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to impress upon him the need to ensure that the perpetrators of the "ghastly" attack on farmers are brought to book.
Eight people were killed in the violence that erupted in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri on Sunday during a protest by farmers against the visit of Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.
Four of the eight killed were farmers. They were allegedly mowed down by a vehicle carrying BJP workers. The other four victims included two BJP workers, allegedly lynched by angry protesters.
A delegation of the SAD will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah to request him to ensure that exemplary action is taken against those involved in the killing of farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri, Badal said. (PTI)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday lauded a delegation of Trinamool Congress MPs for being the only opposition party leaders who, against all odds, succeeded in meeting family members of the farmers killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.
The statement of Banerjee, also the TMC supremo, came on a day when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was stopped from visiting the area in Uttar Pradesh where eight people were killed - four farmers were allegedly run over by a car and four people in a convoy of BJP workers who were lynched - during a peasants' protest on Sunday.
Gandhi on Wednesday evening reached Sitapur where some party office-bearers, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, have been kept in detention since Monday after their failed bid to meet the affected families.
"We condemn the killing of farmers in Uttar Pradesh. The farmers were brutally murdered. Only a TMC delegation was able to reach the village and meet the family members. It took them 12 hours to reach the village. No other political party could reach them.
"Our party MP Dola Sen disguised herself as a Punjabi to reach the area. They did a good job," she said while inaugurating the puja edition of the TMC mouthpiece "Jago Bangla". (PTI)
The Maharashtra Cabinet on Wednesday expressed regret over the death of farmers in the violence at Lakhimpur Kheri, while the ruling allies here called for a statewide bandh on October 11 to protest against the incident in the Uttar Pradesh district as they sought to corner the BJP over the tragedy.
The Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress, allies in the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), gave the call for Maharashtra bandh to protest against the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri, where eight people, four of them farmers, were killed on Sunday.
The incident in the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh found a mention in a meeting of the state cabinet, where ministers condoled the death of farmers and stood in silence for two minutes as a mark of respect.
The meeting was presided over by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, whose party Shiv Sena heads the MVA government. (PTI)
The Supreme Court Wednesday took suo motu cognizance into the recent violent incident of Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh wherein, a total of eight people died, four of whom were mowed down by a vehicle allegedly being driven by the son of Union Minister and BJP MP Ajay Kumar Mishra.
Congress workers led by Rajasthan party president Govind Singh Dotasra will march from the Nagla border of the Bharatpur district in Rajasthan to Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday "to demand strict punishment for the killers," Rajasthan Congress stated in a tweet.
Congress leader Sachin Pilot's convoy en route to Lakhimpur Kheri was stopped in Niyamatpur on the Delhi-Lucknow highway.
Moradabad DM Shailendra Kumar Singh stated they would be taken to a guest house till a decision is made on what to do next.
An Aam Aadmi Party delegation, including Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha and Harpal Singh Cheema, Wednesday reached Lakhimpur Kheri to meet the families of farmers who lost their lives during a protest in the district Sunday.
The party stated that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had spoken to the family of the victims over phone.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday said the Centre should intervene in the case of violence in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri and ensure that victims get justice.
He said the entire country was a witness to the struggles of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi against violence in Lakhimpur Kheri and the "dictatorship" of BJP-led government in UP and the Centre.
National General Secretary of BSP and Rajya Sabha MP Satish Chandra Mishra to visit Lakhimpur Kheri tomorrow, October 7 to meet the family of the deceased farmers.
According to news agency PTI, sources said that Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi may first stop at Nighashan in Lakhimpur district, the native place of journalist Raman Kashyap who also died in Sunday's violence. Nighashan is around 100 km from Sitapur.
Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi are travelling in one vehicle, while Congress leaders Randeep Surjewala and Deepinder Hooda are in another. Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and his Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Baghel are in another vehicle.
Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra (Teni), who is at the centre of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, was inducted into the Union Cabinet recently.
Mishra, the lone Brahmin face from Uttar Pradesh to find a place in the Cabinet during the reshuffle exercise, is a two-term MP from Lakhimpur Kheri. Mishra’s induction into the crucial Home Ministry came at a time when every party is fighting for the Brahmin vote ahead of the UP polls, with the BJP especailly fighting allegations of having anti-Brahmin bias in the state.
Meanwhile, a media invite for an event, scheduled for Thursday in which Mishra was the chief guest and was supposed to deliver a speech, has been “cancelled”. Read more.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi along with Rahul Gandhi, Punjab CM Channi and Chhattisgarh CM Baghel have left for Lakhimpur from Sitapur.
The Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has announced that he will visit Lakhimpur Kheri Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Uttar Pradesh Police allowed all political leaders to go to Lakhimpur Kheri. However, visitors can proceed only in groups of five, as section 144 of the CrPC is still in place in the district.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra left for Lakhimpur Kheri from the PAC guest house in Sitapur, where the AICC general secretary was detained since Monday.
BKU leader Rakesh Tikait on Wednesday demanded the resignation of Union minister Ajay Mishra and the arrest of all accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, warning that a nationwide agitation will be launched if authorities failed to implement within a week the agreement made with the farmers here.
"Our protest has not ended. We will wait till eight days since the agreement and if the demands are not fulfilled a nationwide agitation would be launched," Tikait told reporters at a Gurdwara in Lakhimpur city on Wednesday. (PTI)
BKU leader Rakesh Tikait Wednesday stated that he has been asking for the last two days to permit political leaders to visit Lakhimpur Kheri. "If they come, they would give some financial assistance to the victims," he was quoted as saying by ANI.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal Wednesday said a party delegation will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and request him to ensure that action is "taken against the murderers of innocent farmers at Lakhimpur Kheri."
Badal said a separate party delegation would also meet Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath to ensure swift justice to the families of the farmers who were killed in the incident and to take action against the perpetrators. “I appeal to the chief minister to rise above party lines. It is an issue of credibility. People are affronted that the accused have not been arrested till now," he said.
He added that another delegation will visit the kin of the deceased farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri. “Earlier also a delegation was sent to Uttar Pradesh but it was stopped at the Ghaziabad border," he added.
Trinamool Congress on Wednesday said the killings at Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh showed that democracy is being strangulated in every BJP-ruled state.
The party in a tweet in its official website said "Democracy is repeatedly being STRANGULATED and BRUTALLY ATTACKED in every single @BJP4India ruled state!"
TMC attached a purported video of a car zooming past and hitting few men in its tweet and said "The people of this country deserve better. The #KillingRaj of BJP must be stopped!" (PTI)
The Haryana Congress has announced that it will march to Uttar Pradesh on Thursday to protest against the innocent lives killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.
The state party unit has called upon its workers to gather at the Sanjay Chowk in Panipat at 8 am Thursday morning from where they will march together to UP.
"The BJP government has surpassed the atrocities committed by the British. Its minister of state of home is threatening farmers to suppress their voice. Such tone and tenor should not be there in democracy," said Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday, while addressing a program at Sunaseer Nath Gurudwara in Shahjahanpur.
"There were cruel rulers in the world but in the BJP regime, the voice of democracy is being crushed. In the nearby Lakhimpur district, Sikhs and farmers were crushed and killed. Never has such an incident taken place in the world," he said.
Yadav demanded Rs 2 crore for the families of the four farmers who died in Lakhimpur Kheri violence and the arrest of the accused. (PTI)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi arrived in Sitapur, where AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi has been detained for the last three days.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi along with Punjab and Chhattisgarh CMs has reached the PAC Guest house in Sitapur, where AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi has been detained since Monday. The leaders are expected to leave for Lakhimpur Khiri from here.
In a letter to Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath and PM Narendra Modi, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal asserted that Priyanka Gandhi's arrest under section 151 is "illegal." He questioned why the UP government is "turning a blind eye to the alleged perpetrators of the crime named in an FIR, which includes the son of a sitting Minister of Home (MoS)."
"In these circumstances how can the Home Minister (MoS), Government of India continue to hold office? Why has the Prime Minister not asked him to resign forthwith?" the letter read.
AAP's Punjab affairs incharge Jarnail Singh and Sunam MLA Aman Arora, along with some AAP protesters, were detained near the Chandigarh guest house over their protest against the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.
The Chandigarh police had put up barricades near the MLA house to prevent the party workers from going towards the Punjab Raj Bhavan, PTI reported. The police resorted to the use of water cannons when workers led by MLA Saravjit Kaur Manuke tried to break the barricades.