UP Congress chief arrives to support protesters at UP Gate, farmers oppose

Ghaziabad: As the farmers’ protest entered the eighth day at Ghaziabad’s UP Gate on National Highway-9, the Uttar Pradesh Congress chief, Ajay Kumar Lallu, arrived

Ghaziabad: As the farmers’ protest entered the eighth day at Ghaziabad’s UP Gate on National Highway-9, the Uttar Pradesh Congress chief, Ajay Kumar Lallu, arrived at the protest site and extended his support to the farmers. However, the farmers opposed the move and said that it is their own fight.

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The protest at UP Gate is led by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) whose leaders and supporters have been camping below the UP Gate flyover since November 28 to support the ongoing farmers’ agitation against the Centre’s new farm bills. The protesting farmers are also joined by their counterparts from Uttarakhand and Punjab, and have also blocked the Ghaziabad-Delhi carriageway of NH-9.

Lallu also participated in a ‘havan’ which was performed by the protesting farmers on NH-9 before their leaders headed for talks with the central government in Delhi on Saturday afternoon.

“We are standing with farmers and the government should consider their demands. We oppose the bills brought in by the government. With the ‘havan’, we want that good sense prevails with the government as they are favouring the businessmen,” Lallu said at the protest site on Saturday.

“In fact, the farmers are ‘annadata’ (food provider). Those who know how to make government also know how to bring it down. Just wait and watch. The Congress will fight for the farmers in Parliament as well as on roads,” he added.

After his short stay at the UP Gate, Lallu left with his supporters.

However, the move was opposed by farmers who said that the Congress leaders have come to show concerns when the farmers’ protest has already entered the tenth day.

“The Congress leaders came to show their support today. When the Congress government was in power, the Bharatiya Janata Party was saying same things what Lallu was saying today. When their (Congress) government was in power, they did nothing for the implementation of the Swaminathan Committee report,” said Mange Ram Tyagi, chief secretary of the BKU’s NCR unit.

“We would have considered their support if they had brought in tractor-trolleys and should have stayed with us in winter chill. We have understood that whichever party is in opposition, they will sympathise with us. So, we will do our good on our own and we will stay here (at the protest site) on our own. They have come to show us their support when our protest has entered the tenth day,” Tyagi added.

Meanwhile, the farmers continued their blockade of the highway on Saturday as well. The Ghaziabad-Delhi carriageway of NH-9 continued to remain blocked for the third day and no traffic was allowed.

After the participating in the ‘havan’ at the protest site, BKU leader and spokesperson Rakesh Tikait tried to proceed to Delhi on a tractor but was prevented by the police from doing so. Later, he was taken to Delhi in a vehicle arranged by the police.

“We did a ‘havan’ so that good sense prevails among the government functionaries. Ways will open when people sit together with open heart and positive minds,” Tikait said.

The Ghaziabad police continued their deployment on Saturday at the protest site. “Our personnel are deployed and we will continue to keep a close watch on protesters. We are also trying that no disturbing elements join the protest which has so far remained peaceful,” said Gyanendra Singh, superintendent of police (city 2).

Interestingly, just several hundred metres from the protest site on the highway, children from nearby locality of Khoda on Saturday arrived and played cricket on the highway.