Lucknow: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi met Samajwadi Party worker Anita Yadav at Lakhimpur Kheri district. Anita Yadav was allegedly manhandled by BJP workers and her saree was pulled when she went to file nominations for block panchayat polls held earlier this month. Gandhi is on a two-day visit to Uttar Pradesh.

In an abrupt message to the ruling party, Priyanka in a Hindi tweet said, ''The goons of the BJP involved in 'cheerharan' of the democracy should hear that women will become pradhans, block pramukhs, MLAs, MPs and prime minister, and defeat the government, which gives patronage to those committing atrocities against women.''  She further said, ''For justice of all victims of the panchayat poll violence -- all my sisters and citizens -- I will write a letter to the State Election Commission,''

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had earlier alleged that BJP workers misbehaved with his party candidate Ritu Singh and her proposer Anita Yadav in Lakhimpur Kheri, pulling their ''sarees''.

''They were beaten up while they had gone to file nominations and disrobed. You can imagine what was going on in their mind. Along with Anita, his 19-year-old son was also there,'' Priyanka said, alleging that nobody tried to stop it. ''A CO who tried to intervene, was suspended, and no action was taken on those who were standing there. The administration remained silent,'' she alleged.

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