Punjab Congress leaders, including state ministers and MLAs, were allowed to head towards Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, hours after they were detained at a police station in Saharanpur.
Punjab Transport Minister Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said Uttar Pradesh administration has allowed 20 to 25 Punjab MLAs and ministers to go to Lakhimpur Kheri.
Earlier, a large number of party workers, leaders, including several ministers and legislators, who had assembled in Mohali in Punjab, headed towards Lakhimpur Kheri in their vehicles but were detained at a police station in Saharanpur.
The protestors led by Navjot Singh Sidhu were stopped at the Haryana-Uttar Pradesh border where UP police had put up barricades.
He slammed the UP police for not arresting the son of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra.
According to the protesting Congress leaders, UP police officials initially told them that they could allow only five persons to Lakhimpur Kheri.
The UP police then took Sidhu; ministers Vijay Inder Singla, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Pargat Singh; several MLAs, including Madan Lal Jalalpur, Fateh Jang Bajwa, Raj Kumar Chhabbewal, Harjot Kamal, Rajinder Singh; and Punjab Congress working presidents Kuljit Nagra and Pawan Goel to Sarsawa police station, Saharanpur in a bus, said an official.
Before the protest march, a group of farmers showed black flags to Sidhu’s cavalcade when it was on its way from Patiala to Mohali.
Sidhu has demanded the arrest of MoS Home Mishra’s son in connection with the death of farmers during violence in UP, saying he would go on hunger strike if action is not taken against him by Friday.
Meanwhile, Haryana Congress leaders, including Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Kiran Chaudhary, who started their march from Panipat were also not allowed to move ahead from the Haryana-UP border.
