BKU says house arrest plan foiled, goes ahead with rehearsal
Sambhal police deny allegation, say they were attempting to contact the leaders to know their plans
MEERUT: Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leaders on Thursday alleged that the police made a futile attempt to place some of them under house arrest in Sambhal district of western Uttar Pradesh ahead of the farmers’ proposed rehearsal for the Kisan Tractor Parade in Delhi on the Republic Day.
In spite of the police action, farmers managed to do the rehearsal for the parade with over 200 tractors and other vehicles, BKU state secretary Bijendra Yadav said.
Denying the allegation, Sambhal police officials said that the police only tried to contact BKU leaders to know their plan for the rehearsal, but they were not found in their homes.
“It’s a routine exercise to contact leaders to know about their movement or protest,” said additional superintendent of police, Sambhal, Alok Jaiswal. He denied any farmer leader had been placed under house arrest.
Nevertheless, BKU state secretary Bijendra Yadav insisted that officials sent PAC (Provincial Armed Constabulary) and police personnel to his house and that of the union’s district president Shankar Singh Yadav.
“Anticipating such action, all farmer leaders, including me, didn’t stay at home since Wednesday night,” said Bijendra Yadav. He claimed the police reached the house where he was staying after putting his cell phone under surveillance.
“I used a scooter to reach the
protestors and managed to mobilise farmers for the rehearsal in spite of close vigil by the police on farmer leaders,” he said. He further claimed that the police had placed barriers at all exit points of the district to prevent farmers from participating in the Kisan Tractor Parade in Delhi on January 26. He reiterated that farmers from the district would participate in big numbers in the parade. Meanwhile, BKU’s Bijnor district president Digamber Singh claimed over 1,500 tractors from Bijnor would participate in the parade.
“We have managed many movements in the past and, hence, know how to handle the situation,” said Singh.
BKU’s state spokesperson Dharmendra Malik said, “It’s the farmers’ fundamental right to protest in a democracy and (they) would not tolerate any attempt to suppress it through force.”
“If it happens, the reply would be given in Delhi,” he added.