Priyanka Gandhi meets family of deceased farmer in Rampur

RAMPUR: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Thursday met family members of Navreet Singh here, a farmer who lost his life during the protest in New Delhi on Republic Day, and also attended a prayer ceremony for him.

The 27-year-old Singh died after his tractor overturned during the farmers' tractor parade on January 26.

Accompanied by senior Congress leaders including party's Uttar Pradesh unit chief Ajay Kumar Lallu, Gandhi arrived at the native Dibdiba village of the deceased farmer around noon.

She attended the 'antim ardas' (final prayers for the departed) and sat with family members with her head covered .

Earlier on her way to Rampur, three to four vehicles in Gandhi's convoy collided with each other on a highway in western Uttar Pradesh's Hapur district on Thursday morning.

No one was hurt in the incident that took place near Gajraula area. The vehicles at the end of the convoy hit each other, media incharge of the Congress, Lalan Kumar said in Lucknow.

Some vehicles, however, were damaged, Lalan said adding that the Congress leader is safe.

Earlier in the day, Lallu retweeted a post which had a video of him along with Gandhi seated in a car en route to Rampur.

Another video on social media showed Gandhi cleaning her SUV which had drawn dirt on its windshield amid slight rains in the region in the morning as the entourage stopped along the road somewhere before reaching Rampur.

Lallu also helped the senior party leader clean the car.

Congress, among other opposition parties including BJP's former allies Shiromani Akali Dal and Shiv Sena, has lent its support to the farmers' agitation.

Thousands of farmers are camping at Delhi borders since November demanding that the Centre take back the three laws enacted last September and guarantee minimum support price for crops.

The Centre has maintained that the laws are pro-farmer.