5-member Cong delegation to visit Lakhimpur Kheri on Wednesday

by IANS |

New Delhi, Oct 5 (IANS) A 5-member Congress delegation of the Congress Party led by senior party leader Rahul Gandhi will visit Lakhimpur Kheri on Wednesday. Former Rajasthan state party president Sachin Pilot will also be the part of the delegation which will reach Lucknow at 12 noon.

Earlier Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut after meeting with Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday evening said that a delegation of opposition parties is also being considered for visiting Lakhimpur.

On behalf of the Congress party, General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel are already present in Uttar Pradesh.

Sanjay Raut after meeting with Rahul Gandhi said, "Priyanka Gandhi has been arrested in UP. If the law is the same for all, then why is Priyanka Gandhi in jail and other ministers are roaming free?"

The farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri, who were protesting against the visit of Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Maurya on Sunday, said the minister's son was at the wheels of an SUV that mowed down a group of people, killing four and injuring several others. The violence it triggered led to four other deaths.

A video of the horrifying moment circulating on social media shows an SUV driving into a group of protesters from behind, crushing many of them.

Ajay Mishra, the Union Minister of State for Home, has claimed that the vehicle overturned, crushing the protesters who were throwing stones at the cavalcade. He also claimed that his son was not present at the site of the incident on Sunday.

The farmers have also alleged that one of the four people died of bullet wounds, demanding that a second post-mortem be conducted at a hospital in Delhi.

Ashish Mishra, meanwhile, said, "I was not in the car. I was at my paternal home in Banwirpur village where a wrestling event was organised. I was there from the morning till the end of the event."