Rahul denied permission to visit Mandsaur: Congress

The Congress on Wednesday said party Vice President Rahul Gandhi was denied permission by the Madhya Pradesh government to visit Mandsaur where five farmers were reported killed in firing.

"Rahul Gandhi was not given permission by the state government to visit Mandsaur," Congress's Madhya Pradesh unit chief Arun Yadav told IANS over phone.

Congress leaders said Gandhi was to visit Mandsaur to express his solidarity with the families of farmers killed reportedly when the police opened fire.

On Tuesday, at least five farmers were killed and many were injured in the firing when the farmers were staging protests.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has ordered a judicial probe into the incident. Mandsaur city and Piplya Mandi area where the farmers were protesting have been put under curfew.

Farmers in Madhya Pradesh have been on strike since June 1, demanding their loans be scrapped and their produce be bought at a fair price.

--IANS

sid-aks/him/vt