Police struggle to control farmer protests; Rajnath Singh arrested

Even as the BJP observes a “Black Day” today across Uttar Pradesh to condemn the force used by the police against farmers, party leader Rajnath Singh was arrested before he could reach Bhatta Parsaul, the Greater Noida village that has become the epicenter of a new battle over land. [caption id=“attachment_6387” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The farmers are protesting as they are unhappy with the compensation given to them by the government for their land. Parivartan Sharma/Reuters”]  [/caption] Farmers in the area have clashed with police and local administration officials during protests over the compensation of their land which has been acquired to build the 165-kilometre long Yamuna Expressway. Scheduled to be ready by October, the eight-lane highway and business zone will link Greater Noida to Agra.   Violence-marred protests carried out by affected farmers crying out loud against the forced acquisition of their agricultural land by the government for industrial purposes is not a new phenomenon in India. In fact, the ongoing farmers’ unrest gained further momentum over the weekend and spread to many parts of Uttar Pradesh. Protesters clashed with police and torched vehicles in the Greater Noida region. Four people, including two policemen and a farmer, were killed while the senior-most official of the district, and a senior police official were injured in the weekend clashes. The UP police has announced a reward of Rs 50,000 for arrest of farmer leader Manvir Singh Tevatia, who is leading the farmers’ agitation at Bhatta Parsaul village in Greater Noida since January 17. Meanwhile, the government has denied that the land has been forcibly acquired from farmers for constructing the new highway. On Friday, farmers in Bhatta-Parsaul abducted three employees of a state-run bus company during a protest. Police tried to rescue the hostages on Saturday, and gunfire was exchanged on both sides, officials said. The hostages escaped during the clashes and were later rescued by police. More than 2,000 policemen were deployed in Bhatta-Parsaul after the incident. On Sunday, the protests spread to Agra and Aligarh areas. Farmers set fire to an office of the motorway builder and the protesters clashed with the police. However, a spokesman for the Uttar Pradesh government said the farmers’ protests had nothing to do with the land acquisition, which he said had ended last July. He said the farmers had accepted the compensation for the land, and blamed “anti-social” elements for fomenting violence. The disgruntled farmers are unhappy with the compensation, and have asked for a sizeable increase.