'Was Going to See Priyanka': CM Baghel Stopped at Lucknow Airport, Sits on Floor

Baghel said he wanted to meet Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who has been in police custody since Monday in Sitapur.

Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel sat on the floor after not being allowed to leave the Lucknow airport.

Photo: PTI

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday, 5 October, claimed he was being stopped from leaving the Lucknow airport by the Uttar Pradesh Police.

"I came to Lucknow to proceed to meet Priyanka Gandhi ji at Sitapur. But I am not being allowed to leave the airport," he stated.

He also posted a video on his Twitter account where he could be seen interacting with the police officials.

The chief minister noted in a live video that he was not allowed to leave the airport, even though he had explicitly stated that he did not intend to visit Lakhimpur.

"Why am I being stopped? I am not going anywhere. I am not going to Lakhimpur. Then why are you stopping me? I am not going to your Lakhimpur. Section 144 has been imposed there. Not in Lucknow," he said.

He later sat on the floor of the airport in protest. "I am being stopped from going out of Lucknow airport without any orders," he tweeted in Hindi.

"Yesterday, we condemned the manner in which Priyanka Gandhi and those who accompanied her were stopped and misbehaved with. Today, I learnt that it has been over 33 hours, and Priyanka Gandhi is still under detention. I arrived at the airport to visit Sitapur, to meet her and some others. Then I found that Priyanka ji and 11 others have been arrested," Baghel said in a live video from the airport.

Earlier, Baghel had tweeted that he had left for Lucknow and said farmers would get justice no matter what.

He also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.

"No action has been taken against the culprits of incident (Lakhimpur Kheri) yet. It's very unfortunate that leaders are celebrating 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' in the same state (Uttar Pradesh) where justice has been denied," he was quoted as saying by ANI.

(With inputs from ANI.)