Lakhimpur Kheri violence: Maharashtra government announces statewide bandh on October 11

In light of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, the Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP alliance 'Maha Vikas Aghadi' (MVA) government, on Wednesday (October 6), announced a statewide bandh on October 11. 

The bandh was announced today as a form of protest against the dreadful Lakhimpur Kheri violence. It was stated by the Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Jayant Patil. The MVA is a coalition of NCP, Congress, and Shiv Sena. All three parties and their allied partners will participate in the bandh, noted Patil. 

For the unversed, a total of eight people including four farmers died in violence in the Lakhimpur Kheri district in Uttar Pradesh that took place on October 3. In other news, the five-member Congress delegation including party leader Rahul Gandhi and party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra left Sitapur for violence-hit Lakhimpur Kheri district on Wednesday. 

The delegation also included Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, and party general secretary KC Venugopal. The delegation is likely to meet three families of those who died in Lakhimpur Kheri violence. The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday approved the visit of the Congress delegation led by Rahul Gandhi.

"We have received approval from the government for the visit of Rahul Gandhi-led delegation," Lakhimpur Kheri District Magistrate (DM) Dr Arvind Kumar Chaurasiya told ANI. 

Earlier, Trinamool Congress MPs Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Dola Sen, Pratima Mondal, Abir Ranjan Biswas, and Sushmita Dev met with the families of the victims of Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which eight people died.