Congress MP Rahul Gandhi created a furor in political circles when he reached the violence-hit Bhatta parsaul village in Greater Noida in the wee hours of Wednesday morning to meet the agitating farmers.
Sensing the gravity of the situation, Mr Gandhi sat on indefinite dharna in the village. He was joined by senior Congress Digvijay Singh who told reporters that the Congress wanted a judicial probe into the violent clashes between farmers and police over land acquisition for a expressway development project.
Mr Gandhi said that he was ashamed to be called an Indian after seeing the atrocities heaped on farmers in Bhatta Parsaul village in Greater Noida by the police.
Mr Gandhi was apparently taken aback when women folk in the village told him how the cops had snatched away their earrings and twisted their bangles off their hands, leaving many of them injured in the process. He said that the situation was unimaginable and he was ashamed to be a Indian if this was the ground reality.
Mr Singh said that the Congress also wanted that action should not be taken against farmers and peace should be restored at the earliest. The Mayawati government reciprocated by lifting Section 144 that had been imposed in the area after Saturday’s violence.
Mr Gandhi, once again, caught the Mayawati government unawares when he quietly reached the Bhatta Parsaul village in Greater Noida — a village that had been kept out of bounds for politicians — by hoodwinking the police. He travelled up to the outskirts of the village in his car and then rode pillion on a motorcycle to reach the village around 4.30.a.m when most of the people were still asleep.
Meanwhile, the Mayawati government has said that Mr Gandhi had not informed the state government about his visit to Greater Noida on Wednesday.
“We came to know about his visit much after he had arrived in the Bhatta Parsaul village. As SPG protectee, he is expected to give advance information about his visit so that local security arrangements can be made,” said home secretary Deepak Kumar.