Farmers to support Rahul’s Bharat Jodo Yatra

MEERUT: Bharatiya Kisan Union (Asli) leaders have extended support to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, saying they will participate in the yatra when it passes through western UP, Haryana and Rajasthan in the days to come.

The yatra entered Maharashtra on November 7 and will pass through UP’s Bulandshahr during its journey from Kanyakumari to Srinagar.

A delegation of the organisation led by its president Harpal Singh Bilari called on Congress leader and yatra’s chairman Digvijay Singh in Delhi on Sunday and discussed how they could support the yatra.

“After Mahatma Gandhi and JP Movement, the Bharat Jodo Yatra has turned into a public movement for protecting democratic values in the society. The yatra is seen as a ray of hope when the country is passing through political, social and economic crisis,” Bilari told HT over phone.

He said the organisation’s delegation comprising national spokesperson Prabal Pratap Shahi and youth wing state president Risabh Choudhary met Digvijay Singh in Delhi and informed him about their support to the yatra.

Bilari expressed hope that Rahul Gandhi would work for the welfare of farmers and reminded that he had a vital role in the new land acquisition policy, which paved way for farmers getting adequate compensation of their acquired land for development projects.

Harpal Singh Bilari is a veteran farmer leader of western UP who worked with BKU leader Mahendra Singh Tikait and actively participated in his various movements. He formed his organisation with likeminded leaders after the demise of Tikait in 2011.

His organisation has good support base in western UP, especially in Moradabad and Bareilly divisions.

Bilari was also included in the 40-member committee of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha during the 13-month-long farmers’ movement against three controversial farm bills.