Political Battleground
The Maya government is apparently at loggerheads with opposition parties on the land acquisition issue. Politicians have intensified their campaign against the government keeping next year’s polls in their minds.
Four persons, including two policemen were killed as protesting farmers and administration clashed on May 7 at Bhatta-Parsaul, the twin villages, which have become the nerve centre of the land acquisition protests. Several rounds of gunshots were fired from both the sides. District Magistrate of Noida Deepak Agarwal and SSP, S N Singh were also injured in the firing.
Since then the two adjoining villages are abuzz with politicians and media persons, jamming streets of these villages.
Mayawati government is facing the heat of the recent events that took place in these two villages. The problem lies in the variation of acquisition rates offered to farmers. Farmers of Tappal, a village in Aligarh and centre stage of the protests from the very inception of the protests, are demanding rates equal to their counterparts bordering Delhi.
The issue has given opposition parties an opportunity to corner Maya government. It seems, Rahul Gandhi, taking a cue from Mamta’s landslide victory in West Bengal reached Bhatta-Parsual during the wee hours on May 11, riding pillion on a motor cycle, dodging strong police presence tried to encash the “opportunity”. The issue intensified on the same night after police arrested the leader. Many congress supporters and leaders landed in the twin villages, supporting farmers’ protests and condemning police action against them.
But Congress must introspect its own policies while criticizing others’. The same party vowed to go ahead in Jaitapur, despite the fact that farmers as well as environment activists are protesting against the proposed nuclear power project. Even former Chief justice of Delhi High Court, A P Shah has said in his report that no safety study was undertaken while
finalizing the project.
Farmers of Srikakulam are dissenting against the proposed thermal power plant on their soil. Three farmers were killed and several others were injured when police opened fire on the protesting farmers. Paryavarana Parirakshana Samithi, an organization, which is protesting against the proposed plant has crossed its 600 days of protest. But congress has backed the project and there are no signs that the government will back out on the issue.
The party has come to power for the second time, but there are no visible efforts to confirm that it tried to create a consensus on the pending bills on land acquisition. The “dual standards” adopted by Congress makes it clear that it has no other interest in Bhatta or Parsual but to convert the agonized farmers as their votes.
There are rumours floating in the atmosphere that senior congress leader Digvijay Singh paid a huge sum to farmer leader Manvir Singh Tewatia to “incite” farmers and embarrass the
Maya government.
Police is now on the lookout for the leader who fled from the scene the very same day. Police is also probing at the ammunition front. Its noteworthy that farmers confronted the well equipped security personnels. There were reports of heavy firing from farmers’ side. Who provided ammunition to farmers is an issue to be probed seriously.
Senior Bhartiya Janta Party leaders including Rajnath Singh, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Arun Jaitley visited the villages and consented to extend their “full support” to the farmers. However, Singh and Jaitley were taken into “preventive custody” later.
UP Chief Minister Mayawati blamed Congress for farmers' protests in different parts of the country. She said that there was a need for uniform policy on land acquisition and her party will “raise” the issue in Parliament. She was addressing a party meeting in Chandigarh.
UP in past few months have witnessed several mass protests. The farmers of the state are asking for a uniform rate policy and till date, the UP government has not found any remedy to pacify the agitating farmers.
The cause of the May 2011 protests in Uttar Pradesh are disputed: the protestors claim that they are a direct consequence of the land acquisition has been challenged by the state government, which has stated that the acquisitions had been completed by July 2010 and that the 2011 protests were due to "anti-social" elements encouraging the violence. The farmers believe that the compensation paid by the state government for their land was inadequate, whereas the government believes it to be generous.
In the recent past, the country has witnessed widespread protests in different parts against land acquisition, which in turn either shelved the project or resulted in several casualties. Politicians are voicing for a “stronger and farmer friendly” law on land acquisition. However, Land Acquisition Amendment, Rehabilitation, and Replacement Bills are ready for past five years but the only wait it has to get the “political consensus” of the leaders to pass it in both of the houses.
The farmers have been agitating since January this year for better compensation for the land acquired by the UP government for the Rs 9739-crore Yamuna Expressway. They have also demanded a share in the land after it was finally developed.
Eleven villages had been notified by the authority in the first phase of land acquisition. The expressway will be 160 km long and six-laned, connecting Greater Noida with Agra.
