JOIN USNoida villages remain tense
Police took into custody, Opposition party leaders like former BJP president Rajnath Singh and Samajwadi Party’s Shivpal Singh Yadav and Mohan Singh when they tried to reach the two villages.
Official sources claimed that the situation in Agra and Aligarh was peaceful. In Agra, where agitating farmers had torched several vehicles on Sunday, the work on the Yamuna Expressway began on Monday, under heavy police protection. Security personnel continued to be deployed in strength at Bhatta and Parsaul to maintain law and order. Menfolk who had fled the villages fearing police action had not yet returned, sources said.
Police said a massive manhunt had been launched to nab the farmer leader Manveer Singh Tewatia. The BJP observed ‘black day’ on Monday in protest against the firing on the farmers.
Party workers took out processions in Agra and elsewhere demanding action against the guilty policemen. The violent incidents have followed the arrival of a large number of security personnel in Bhatta-Parsaul area to rescue three UP Roadways employees whom the villagers had locked up.
Cong blames Maya
The Congress on Monday slammed the Mayawati government for farmers’ agitation over land acquisition in Uttar Pradesh and demanded a judicial probe into the incident. “The Mayawati government has been extremely insensitive to the cause of farmers and the poor in recent years. Instead of talking to farmers and taking them into confidence, it has been taking violent action against the agitating farmers. We demand a judicial inquiry into the incident,” said Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh.
“The greed of Mayawati has overtaken her sensible decisions. The whole government is up for grabs for those who have money to spend and who have capacity to fill the personal coffers of the CM,” alleged Singh, who is party in-charge for UP.
Party spokesperson Manish Tiwari also condemned police action in Noida and said farmers’ demands should be treated with sensitivity. The Congress does not support violence but democracy forbids a government from taking retaliatory action in spite of provocation, he added.
Medha demands long-term solution
Narmada Bachao leader and activist Medha Patkar has accused builder-politician nexus for the ongoing violence in Noida, Aligarh and other parts of Uttar Pradesh.
Taking a potshot on political parties, Medha Patkar said the mad rush for these lands among corporates, politicians and bureaucrats had created this situation.
“The UPA government and opposition leaders, including Ajit Singh, Rajnath Singh, all are talking of package and amending the Land Acquisition Act, getting it passed in the parliament at the earliest. This, however is no solution. We need a long-term solution which lies in repealing Land Acquisition Act and legislating a Comprehensive Development Planning Act which should ensure participation of local people including peasants and farmers in developmental planning,” she said, and expressed full support for the farmers’ agitation against forcible land acquisition.