BKU leader joins BJP amid standoff over farm laws

AFTER JOINING BJP, RAJU AHLAWAT ADVISED BKU LEADERSHIP TO HOLD TALKS WITH THE GOVERNMENT OVER THE THREE FARM LAWS

LUCKNOW: Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Raju Ahlawat joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev and the party’s national vice president Radha Mohan Singh here amid the ongoing standoff with BKU and other farmers’ bodies over the Centre’s three new agri reform laws and the latest flashpoint in Lakhimpur Kheri.

BKU is among 32 farmer union protesting against the new laws.

Ahlawat, currently in-charge of Saharanpur, had been removed as BKU district chief about two years back.

The BKU state executive body was also announced on Sunday and Ahlawat didn’t find a place in the farmers’ body.

After joining BJP, Ahlawat advised BKU leadership to hold talks with the government over the three farm laws.

“Protests, stage-ins and road blockades are resorted to attract the attention of the government but now that the government is willing to hold discussions (on farm laws), BKU leadership should consider changing their stance,” Ahlawat said.

He also said: “These farm laws offer an option to the farmers and it is up to them to accept them or continue to sell their produce as before.”

Several Congress and Bahujan

Samaj Party (BSP) leaders also joined the BJP on Sunday.

They included Congress state vice president Virendra Pasi, Dr Bhawna Patel who had contested elections on Congress ticket from Varanasi, former BSP MLAs from Sahjanwa and Paniyara in Gorakhpur GM Singh and Dev Narayan Singh, two-time former MLA from Duddhi (Sonbhadra) Rubi Prasad of BSP, BSP’s former candidate from Rohaniya (Varanasi) Pramod Kumar Singh, former BSP lawmaker from Fatehpur Sikri (Agra) Suraj Pal, former BSP MLC and divisional coordinator (Bijnor) Subodh Parashar, former BSP candidate Mukesh Dixit, Gayatri Parashar (BSP), Varanasi-based social worker Shashikant Rai ‘Chunna’, Lok Dal’s Virendra Singh, Chaudhary Pratap Singh of Shivpal Yadav’s Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia, Virendra Singh Sainthwar (BSP), RK Chaudhary (Congress) and Samajwadi Yuvjan Sabha (Varanasi) district treasurer Shubham Gupta.