A statewide bandh announced by state government, which is an alliance of the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress, will be observed in Maharashtra today to support the farmers protest against the farmers’ killing on October 3 in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district.
Congress leaders including state chief Nana Patole and city chief Bhai Jagtap will go to Raj Bhavan and hold a sit-in today, reported Indian Expresse.
Patole told reporters that the developments in Uttar Pradesh were throttling democracy.
The Shiv Sena is also said to have told its party cadre to ensure that shops remain shut on Monday.
Sena workers staged ‘rasta roko’ (block the road) on Pune -Bengluru national highway in Kolhapur.
Mahesh Tapase, chief spokesperson of NCP, said, “People of Maharashtra have expressed their solidarity with victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. NCP cadres along with workers of other parties will see that bandh is ensured.”
Meanwhile, BJP has opposed the Maharashtra bandh announced by the ruling parties. BJP leader Ashish Shelar said, “Sena has always opposed the development. They had indirectly supported the mill workers strike in 1980s, opposed key development projects including airports in Navi Mumbai, Sindhudurg, coastal road and now observing bandh when people are distressed because of Covid lockdown,” he said.
The state Cabinet on Wednesday had passed a resolution expressing grief for the deaths in Lakhimpur Kheri. The ministers had also observed silence in the Cabinet for two minutes to mourn the loss of lives.
After the cabinet meeting, Jayant Patil, Irrigation Minister and state NCP president, had said, “The MVA has called a state-wide bandh on October 11 against the Lakhimpur Kheri violence and appeals to people to participate in the bandh.”
