Chhattisgarh, Punjab govts to give Rs 50 lakh to kin of Lakhimpur violence victims

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said the Lakhimpur violence reminded him of the Jallianwallah Bagh massacre

Congress governments in Chhattisgarh and Punjab on Wednesday announced Rs 50 lakh each to the families of farmers and a journalist who were killed in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri, as the party upped its ante on the issue.

Chief Ministers Bhupesh Baghel (Chhattisgarh) and Charanjit Singh Channi (Punjab) made the announcements while accompanying Rahul Gandhi to Lakhimpur Kheri to meet the families, after a stand-off with the Uttar Pradesh government over their visit.

"We stand with the families of the farmers who have been murdered," Channi tweeted as he announced the compensation.

Read more: Rahul Gandhi en route Lakhimpur after brief row at Lucknow airport

Baghel also said that his government will also give Rs 50 lakh to the families of the farmers and the journalist.

"Thanks, Bhupesh Baghel and Charanjit Singh Channi. The BJP will crush the farmers and journalists under the tires of the jeep and the Chhattisgarh and Punjab governments have decided to give Rs 1 crore (50 lakh per government) to each farmer-journalist family to heal the wounds. That's the difference," Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted.

Claiming that the UP government has made a "mockery" of democracy, Channi described the Lakhimpur violence as reminding him of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919.

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