New Delhi/Lucknow: Accusing the UPA government of
adopting "double standards", a section of farmers protesting
in Greater Noida on Tuesday alleged that the Centre was not taking
any steps to defuse the crisis so as to gain political mileage
and nothing had changed even after Rahul Gandhi's visit.
"Centre is not taking any immediate step so as to
prolong the issue and gain political mileage out of it,"
Kesari Singh Gujjar, a member of Dehat Morcha which is
spearheading the farmers agitation in Bhatta Parsul of Uttar
Pradesh, told reporters here.
He alleged that the villagers were facing "more police
repression" after Gandhi's visit to Bhatta Parsaul, the
epicentre of the recent protests in Uttar Pradesh where
farmers were demanding enhanced compensation for land acquired
for UP Expressway project.
"Rahul Gandhi has come and stayed there for a day.
After that nothing happened. The torture has increased. The
Centre says they are with us but at the same time the UP
government says that they are implementing laws formulated by
Centre. We feel Central government is showing double
standards," Gujjar said.
Demanding a thorough probe into the alleged police
atrocities, Kishanveer, another member of the Dehat Morcha,
demanded that the Centre should form of a Special
Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the matter.
Vandana Shiva, a noted environmentalist and activist
of Navdanya, said the land stretch across Greater Noida is one
of the thickest alluvial land in India, which produces three
crops in a year.
"If we take away this land of farmers, a large portion
of yearly food production will be lost," she said at the press
conference organised by Navdanya, an organisation working on
issues like Farm Rights, Food Security and Ecology.
She also demanded that the UP government should stop
all police action against farmers defending their land rights.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, May 17, 2011, 19:17