Akhilesh Yadav stopped from joining farmer protest, riot police outside house

Last week, Akhilesh Yadav had announced to launch statewide Kisaan yatra (road rallies for farmers) from December 7.

Updated on: Dec 7, 2020, 10:54:00 IST

Hindustan Times, Lucknow | By Pankaj Jaiswal

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Barricades and an anti-riot team have been placed outside former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s residence in Lucknow to stop him from going to Kannauj to lead a farmers’ protest.

Joint commissioner of police, Lucknow, Navin Arona said the police were deployed to prevent any law and order trouble. (Photo @samajwadiparty)

The Samajwadi Party president had announced statewide Kisaan Yatra - on foot, bicycles, motorcycles, tractors, etc - to protest against the new agricultural reforms and lend support to the farmers’ cause.

This comes on the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to virtually launch the construction of phase one of Agra Metro Rail project while chief minister Yogi Adityanath will be physically present in Agra.

“This government is so scared of Akhilesh ji taking to streets. He has to go there to participate in the farmers’ protest and drive a tractor along with the farmers to raise their issue. First the central government introduced draconian kind of farm laws and now the state government is preventing our party from protesting. This all is so anti-democratic,” said Rajendra Chaudhary, SP state spokesperson and former UP minister.

The police have heavily cordoned off the Vikramaditya marg (where SP office and Akhilesh’s house are located) and also deployed anti-riot vehicles. The police already took two SP legislative council members - Ashu Malik and Rajpal Kashyap - and sent them to the police lines.

Last week, Akhilesh Yadav had announced to launch statewide Kisaan yatra (road rallies for farmers) from December 7.

“Our yatras - scheduled to begin from today - were against BJP’s anti-farmer policy and in favour of farmers and will be taken out in each and every district,” said Rajendra Chaudhary.

The party workers during the rallies were asked to raise the demand of “higher income for farmers, save farming”.

Joint commissioner of police, Lucknow, Navin Arona said the police were deployed to prevent any law and order trouble.

Akhilesh is currently Azamgarh MP but had been three-time former Kannauj MP. His wife Dimple Yadav too is a former Kannauj MP.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pankaj Jaiswal
Pankaj Jaiswal is Bureau Chief, Uttar Pradesh. He covers-analyses politics, and assists Hindustan Times reporters across the state. He has 30 years of experience in print media reporting. Based in Lucknow, he started his journalism career at a national English daily in Kanpur after graduating from Christ Church College. He joined Hindustan Times, Lucknow edition, as part of the launch team in 1997. He’s covered everything from rural distress to science, environment, wildlife, and crime. He has travelled extensively in Uttar Pradesh for rural, development, political, and election reporting. His continued interest in rural issues, rural distress, and development journalism has fetched him a handful of prestigious awards and fellowships. Pankaj is a photojournalist too. He clinched the Statesman Award for Rural Reporting—First Prize in 2009 and Third Prize in 2006—for exposing Bundelkhand’s devastating drought and distress: crop failures, farm suicides, migration, debt, and the injustice of meagre compensation cheques between Rs 10 and Rs 20 to farmers by the government from crop loss. He also has been awarded with Hindustan Times internal 'Journalist of the Month' citation over half a dozen times. His relentless reporting in Hindustan Times pulled the Bundelkhand crisis out of obscurity and forced it into the national spotlight, prompting media and government action on one of India’s most neglected regions. Over a decade, he filed hundreds of hard-hitting stories, travelling repeatedly from Lucknow deep into Bundelkhand. He also received the Special Mention KC Kulish International Award 2009. Pankaj also did long-haul political reporting on the most intense political family feud—’The Yadav Family Feud’—between 2016 and 2022.Read More