Trinamool Congress Leaders Denied Permission To Visit Lucknow, DGP Says Section 144 Imposed

The Uttar Pradesh administration on Sunday denied permission to a four-member delegation of senior Trinamool Congress leaders who were scheduled to meet the families of agitators killed during protests against the new citizenship law. “We have come to know that some political leaders of Trinamool Congress want to visit Lucknow. We will not permit them for the same as section 144 is imposed in the area and it can make the atmosphere more tense,” news agency ANI quoted UP DGP OP Singh as saying.

The Trinamool Congress delegation, led by senior party leader Dinesh Trivedi and comprising MPs Pratima Mondal, Md Nadimul Haque and Abir Biswas, was expected to reach Lucknow on Sunday.

“Our delegation is going to Lucknow on a humanitarian mission to be with the grieving families of those killed and would also meet the people injured in the incidents,” party general secretary Subrata Bakshi said.

Several parts of West Bengal had witnessed vandalism and arson between December 13 and 17 during protests against the Act.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on Thursday challenged the BJP-led government at the Centre to go for a referendum over the CAA and the proposed nationwide NRC.

The death count in violence related to protests in Uttar Pradesh has climbed to 18, officials said on Sunday. Over 260 policemen were also injured, of whom 57 received gunshot wounds in Kanpur, IG (Law and Order) Praveen Kumar was quoted as saying by PTI. In Muzaffarnagar, 25 policemen were injured in stone-pelting on Friday and SP City got pellet injury when someone in the crowd used an illegal firearm, SP Abhishek Yadav said.

Meanwhile, internet services have been suspended in 25 districts of Uttar Pradesh. The internet will remain suspended till Monday noon. Districts, where the internet will remain suspended, are - Lucknow, Sitapur, Aligarh, Saharanpur, Meerut, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad, Bareilly, Mau, Sambhal, Azamgarh, Agra, Kanpur, Chandauli, Varanasi Firozabad, Mathura, Pilibhit, Bulandshahar, Amroha, Rampur, Bijnor, Moradabad Monday and Prayag.

All the schools, colleges and other educational institutes in the state capital will remain closed till December 24.