A 5-member Congress delegation led by Rahul Gandhi left for violence-hit Lakhimpur Kheri from Lucknow airport after being briefly stopped by Uttar Pradesh police.

Gandhi was stopped from leaving the airport, hours after the Uttar Pradesh government ostensibly gave him permission to visit violence-hit Lakhimpur Kheri.

Security personnel wanted to take Gandhi and the delegation in police car for his visit to Lakhimpur Kheri. After a brief confrontation, the Congress leader was allowed to take his own car.

"What kind of permission I have been granted by the UP government? These people are not letting me go out of the airport," he said. He further said, "We want to go in our car to Lakhimpur Kheri but they (police) want to take us in their vehicle. I asked them to let me go in my personal vehicle. They're planning something. I'm sitting here," Rahul Gandhi said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the UP government had denied permission to Rahul Gandhi to visit Lakhimpuri Kheri district. Later, the additional director general for law and order Prashant Kumar said the UP government permitted Congress delegation in groups of five to visit Lakhimpur Kheri.

The Congress has demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi sack Union Minister Ajay Mishra, whose convoy drove into a crowd of protesters, crushing some of them. Farmers allege that the car that ran over protesters was being driven by the minister's son Ashish Mishra.

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