Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has given permission to Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and three others to visit Lakhimpur, a top official said here.
Earlier in the day, the state government had denied permission to Rahul Gandhi for the visit, and an official spokesperson had said that no one would be allowed to visit the violence-hit district to vitiate its atmosphere.
“Permission has been given to five leaders of Congress, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, to visit Lakhimpur,” Additional Chief Secretary, Information, Navneet Sehgal told PTI.
Priyanka Gandhi is in detention at the PAC compound in Sitapur since Monday morning. She was on her way to meet the families of farmers killed in Sunday’s violence in Lakhimpur Kheri when she was stopped.
The Yogi Adityanath-led government has also granted permission to all political parties to Lakhimpur Kheri, where eight people died as violence erupted during a farmers’ protest three days back.
However, only five people will be allowed at a time, a top official said here.
“Permission has been given to political parties to visit Lakhimpur. Only five people will be allowed,” Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Home, Awanish Kumar Awasthi told PTI in Lucknow.
Also read: Don’t care about manhandling, Rahul Gandhi says as he heads to Lakhimpur Kheri with 2 CMs