Baghel slams UP govt for denying him permission to land at Lucknow airport

Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday slammed the Uttar Pradesh government for denying his plane permission to land at the Lucknow airport as he was scheduled to visit Lakhimpur Kheri a day after eight people were killed there in violence that broke out after a car hit protesting farmers. He questioned whether civil rights have been abolished in Uttar Pradesh.

Baghel, who was named as Congress’s senior observer for the Uttar Pradesh polls over the weekend, questioned if Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which prohibits the gathering of over four people, is in force in Lahkimpur Kheri. “Are there no civil rights in Uttar Pradesh?… Whether a separate visa is required for going to Uttar Pradesh,” Baghel said.