Maharashtra govt condoles death of Lakhimpur farmers, MVA calls for bandh on Oct 11

In an unprecedented development, the Maharashtra government - in its weekly Cabinet meeting - condoled the death of farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri even as the three ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi partners called for a state-wide bandh on October 11.

The Cabinet meeting on Wednesday - presided over by Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray - condoled the death of farmers and stood in two minutes’ silence.

“The state cabinet passed a resolution expressing regret over the death of farmers in the incident,” the CMO tweeted.

Also Read | Lakhimpur Kheri killings give new lifeline to Opposition ahead of UP election

In a related development, the MVA partners - Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress - have called for a bandh on October 11 to protest against the incident.

“The MVA has called for a statewide bandh on 11 October against the Lakhimpur Kheri violence,” water resources and command area development minister and state NCP president Jayant Patil said.

The development comes a day after NCP president Sharad Pawar likened the Lakhimpur Kheri incident with the Jallianwala Bagh massacre during India’s freedom struggle - and also accused the BJP-led Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government of misuse of power.

Also Read | Congress sees Lakhimpur Kheri tragedy as opportunity to derive political mileage, says BJP

In a related development, Shiv Sena chief spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut met Congress leader and Lok Sabha member Rahul Gandhi. “I met Rahul Gandhi. I have also held discussions with him on the Lakhimpur incident. A united opposition is very important for the country and to save democracy,” Raut said.

Meanwhile, when asked about the Cabinet resolution against the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, former chief minister and now leader of opposition Devendra Fadnavis said: "You (MVA) should speak of farmers here (in Maharashtra)...farmers are dying, they are reeling under problems...if they are not given relief, we would protest."