Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday met with women political workers who were allegedly assaulted during the recently conducted block panchayat polls by BJP members in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district.
Vadra is on a two-day visit to Lucknow ahead of the Assembly polls scheduled to take place in the state next year.
Vadra demanded that the recent panchayat elections held in Lakhimpur Kheri district be cancelled, and re-polls be held.
Her comments come in the backdrop of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleging that BJP workers misbehaved with his party candidate Ritu Singh and her proposer Anita Yadav. He also claimed that the saffron party workers pulled the sarees of Ritu and Anita.
Amid these developments, Vadra met Ritu Singh and Anita Yadav on Saturday.
On Friday, Vadra staged a silent protest in front of a Mahatma Gandhi statue in Lucknow against the BJP government in the state. Accusing the BJP of unleashing violence in the state during the block panchayat polls, Vadra said, “Your police were kidnapping candidates. Nomination papers were being torn. Women candidates were being beaten up. Their clothes were being pulled. In all districts, officials were threatened.”
"The Uttar Pradesh government itself is spreading chaos. It is doing this because in the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, they totally failed, and the prime minister is giving certificates to Yogiji," the Congress general secretary said, adding that democracy is under threat in the state.
"There is a 'cheerharan' of democracy in Uttar Pradesh," she alleged.
Vadra will also meet block Congress presidents of Amethi and Rae Bareli on Saturday and hold a meeting with the office-bearers of the 'Berozgar Manch', a body representing the unemployed.
She will also hold a meeting with former MPs, ex-MLAs, former district and city presidents and former heads of frontal organisations and departments and later meet the heads of frontal organisations, departments, members of zila panchayats and block heads. She is scheduled to return to Delhi on Saturday evening.
(With PTI inputs)
