The Congress in Uttar Pradesh will use Mr Rahul Gandhi’s birthday on June 19 to reconnect with farmers in the state. The party has decided to celebrate the day as Kisan Adhikar Diwas (Farmers’ Rights Day).
“The celebrations on June 19 will set the mood for the Kisan Maha Panchayat, scheduled to be held in Bhatta Parsaul village later this month,” says UPCC president Rita Bahuguna Joshi.
The Congress is keen to keep the heat on the land acquisition issue with Bhatta Parsaul as its focal point. Mr Gandhi’s meeting in Bhatta Parsaul will seek to dilute the impact of the Kisan Maha Panchayat convened by UP chief minister Mayawati last week.
The Mayawati government, meanwhile, is learnt to have decided to deny permission to the Congress to convene any meeting In Bhatta Parsaul village.
“The villages are gradually limping back to normalcy and we will not allow any political party to vitiate the atmosphere there. Prohibitory orders will be clamped there and permission will be denied to any party that plans any sort of congregation there,” said a senior official on condition of anonymity.
The Congress, on the other hand, prepared for any such eventuality. “If the government denies us permission to hold meeting in Bhatta Parsaul, we will hold it at the nearest point from the village. The meeting will definitely be held and if they want, they can push us out of the state. We are not going to be cowed down by such repressive measures,” said a senior Congress leader.
The Congress apparently wants to focus on farmers’ issues since land acquisition protests have been held from Bhatta Parsaul in western UP to Chandauli in eastern UP. The Congress feels that highlighting this issue will shift the focus to development and dilute the caste card that regional parties are banking on. Besides, the party also wants to neutralise the impact of Ms Mayawati’s interaction with farmers and the subsequent compensation that the state government paid to them.
“The suggestions that we receive from the farmers during the Kisan Adhikar Diwas on June 19 and the subsequent Kisan Maha Panchayat, will be incorporated in the proposed land acquisition bill that is likely to be tabled soon in Parliament. We are also holding meetings in other parts of the state to invite suggestions,” said a party spokesman.
The UPCC president said that the data collected from these meetings would be presented to the Prime Minister in the form of suggestions from farmers.