Priyanka, Akhilesh, others detained on way to Lakhimpur

The Lakhimpur Kheri violence has given the Opposition a tailor-made opportunity to take on the Yogi Adityanath Government in the run up to the State Assembly polls. While farmers’ union held countrywide protest on Monday against the death of four farmers on Saturday, under the wheels of convoy of Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s son, dozens of Opposition leaders, including Congress general secretary Priyanka  Vadra, were detained  on way to the spot.

At the same time, the Opposition slammed the Yogi Government and sought the dismissal of the Union Minister and the arrest of his son, while accusing the State Government of shielding them.

The State administration took several preventive steps strengthening police force at all the toll plazas on highways leading to Kheri. The cops were instructed not to allow any political parties leaders to reach Kheri .

Vadra was detained at Sitapur police station while she was on way to Lakhimpur to meet the farmers. Apart from Vadra, Deepender Hooda (Congress), Sanjay Singh (AAP) and Chandrashekhar Azad (Bhim Army) were also detained, while BSP State chief Satish Mishra, Congress leaders Pramod Tiwari and Salman Khurshid placed under house arrest.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav-- who refused house arrest and tried to move towards Lakhimpur-was also detained by the UP police along with his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav. Punjab Dy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel have been denied permission to land at Lucknow airport.

Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that “killing Raj is going on, instead of Ram Rajya” in Uttar Pradesh, while Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala compared the BJP Government to “General Dyer” who ordered firing upon peaceful protesters in Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar in 1919.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury alleged that democracy was being “throttled” while AAP’’s chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj termed it the “Hathras model” and alleged that both the State and Central Governments are attempting to cover up the incident of Lakhimpur Kheri.

Senior Congress leader Deepinder Singh Hooda on Monday said the farmers’ agitation at Lakhimpur Kheri will usher in a change of government in Uttar Pradesh, similar to the change of guard following the Bhatta Parsaul episode a decade ago. (PTI)

The Congress demanded the immediate dismissal of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra and the arrest of his son.

The party also demanded enhanced compensation of Rs one crore for each of the farmers killed and sought immediate release of Vadra, who the leaders alleged has been illegally detained by the Uttar Pradesh Police. The Congress also said it would hold protests outside the offices of all district magistrates across the country on Tuesday to protest against the incident.

The party leaders protested outside UP Bhawan in the national capital and staged agitations elsewhere in the nation. “We demand that Union minister Ajay Mishra should be immediately dismissed from his post and his son arrested forthwith. We also demand that the minister should be booked for the same offence as his son as he is trying to protect him,” Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said at AICC Press conference.

Vadra, who tried to reach Lakhimpur late on Sunday night, was detained in Sitapur. Videos of her furiously lashing out at police personnel for misbehaving with her and her colleagues were also doing the rounds. “The BJP government is doing the politics of crushing the farmers and finishing them,” she said on Twitter.

Saying that farmers will win this fight for justice, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi added in a tweet in Hindi, “Priyanka, I know that you will not retreat. They fear your courage. We will ensure that the country’s ‘annadatas’ win this non-violent fight for justice.”

Meanwhile,  Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren said violence in UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri was a blot on humanity and  condemned the  attempts to stop opposition from meeting victims’ families

Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly Siddaramaiah, State Congress president DK Shivakumar along with other party leaders staged a protest in Bengaluru against the Lakhimpur Kheri violence incident and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s detention.

Senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot said the  alleged “manhandling” of Vadra by the Uttar Pradesh Police shows that the BJP-led state and central governments are “scared”,.

Meanwhile, the death toll in Sunday’s violence in Tikonia area of the district went up to 9 after a body of a journalist was recovered on Monday morning. Police said that local journalist of Nighasan area, identified as Raman Kashyap also found dead. Deceased family members alleged that Raman was lynched by the protestors, who were wearing T shirts with photo of Bhindrawala. The journalist went missing after Sunday’s violence and his body was recovered from the agricultural field, police said. Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra Teni, whose son Ashish has been made prime accused by the farmers had already alleged that Sikh extremist group were behind the violence.