JOIN USUP police direct petrol pump owners not to give fuel for tractors, withdraw order after backlash
In an apparent bid to thwart plans for taking out tractor rallies by supporters of the agitating farmers in Delhi, the police in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur district, about 350 kilometres from Lucknow, had ordered a ban on sale of fuel for tractors on Tuesday, the Republic Day.
The directive was, however, withdrawn after it invited sharp reactions from the farmers' organisations, opposition parties and social activists.
A police official in Ghazipur later said that the order was issued by 'mistake' and that a probe was ordered to ascertain under what circumstances it was issued. The written order was issued by at least two police stations - Suhwal and Saidpur in the district.
The order said that section 144 was already in force in the district and that there was a possibility of farmers taking out tractor rallies and holding other programmes on Tuesday, as a result of which, the tractor rallies had been banned. It directed the petrol pump owners not to give fuel for tractors and warned that there would be serious consequences if the directive was not followed.
As a copy of the order went viral on the social media, farmers' organisations and opposition parties reacted sharply and condemned the directive. ''The order exposed the anti-farmer mentality of the BJP government,'' said a senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader. He also demanded immediate withdrawal of the order.
Ghazipur police later posted a message on its Twitter handle stating that the order had been issued by 'mistake' and that a probe had been ordered into it.
Farmers protesting against the new farm laws are going to take out a tractor rally in the national capital on the Republic Day.