BKU-led farmers set to reach Rajghat

Thousands of farmers from Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh are set to reach Rajghat in Delhi to press the central government to concede their demands, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) said on Monday.

The BKU-led 'Kranti Yatra', which started from Haridwar in Uttarakhand, has reached Ghaziabad and farmer leader Naresh Tikait said the farmers were determined to enter Delhi.

Earlier, the farmers were to spend Monday night in Ghaziabad for which the district administration had made arrangements at the Kamla Nehru Nagar ground.

In view of the heavy inflow of farmers, the administration has diverted public transport on National Highway 58.

The farmers spent Sunday night in Murad Nagar near the upper Ganga canal.

Tikait told reporters that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) grabbed power in 2014 by misleading farmers that their income would be doubled. Believing the party, the farmers voted for them.

"But after grabbing power in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has forgotten its promises. So we have come to remind them their promises," he said.

A memorandum to be submitted to the Centre includes 21 demands including implementation of the M.S. Swaminathan Commission report, waiver of farm loan, free electricity to farmers and allowing power connections to farmers to run tube wells.

Tikait said the farmers plan to reach Rajghat on Monday night or Tuesday morning "where we will pay tributes to Chaudhary Charan Singh, Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Babu Jagjivan Ram.

"Over one lakh farmers are expected to reach Rajghat although Delhi Police have sealed all entry points... We appeal to the government not to deprive us of our basic fundamental rights to pay tributes to our leaders."

Ghaziabad Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna said security arrangements had been tightened and nine companies of paramilitary forces had been deployed in Ghaziabad.

--IANS

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