Rahul concocts facts to hog spotlight, farmers pushed back

Trust our politicians to reduce serious business to a farce. In parts of Uttar Pradesh, which has been on the boil over the issue of compensation to farmers, the spotlight is no more on the farmers. It’s about Rahul Gandhi and his fight against the Mayawati government. As Firstpost had written earlier, it was a “drop in” gimmick with few clear solutions for the farmers. Ever since the Congress general secretary sneaked into Bhatta-Parsaul to express solidarity with the agitators, the entire focus has been on all his moves and their political implications. Not many discuss enhanced payment for people who have lost land for the Yamuna Expressway now. [caption id=“attachment_11879” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Rahul Gandhi’s entry into Bhatta-Parsaul in Uttar Pradesh stole away the limelight from the farmers’ plight. Jayanta Dey/Reuters”]  [/caption] The priority for all concerned looks clear. It’s the UP elections next year. Rahul has virtually kicked off his party’s campaign from the trouble-torn village. If other political parties are whining, it is because they have lost out to the Congress scion in the battle for the eyeballs. The twist in the compensation narrative came with Rahul’s claim of mass graves and rape of women in the village. He alleged that several women at Bhatta-Parsaul were raped by security personnel after two cops died during clashes with the villagers. He also said he saw bodies of farmers in the village and mentioned a 70-ft high mound of ashes to create enough suspense around the subject. In a follow up action, he took a delegation of villagers to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and apprise him of the true situation in the affected area. Now, it appears Rahul was firing in the dark with no evidence to support his claim. The state government has already debunked his claim. Caught in an embarrassing situation, the Congress has demanded judicial enquiry into the issue. ``Rahul has been misquoted,’’ said Congress spokesperson Janardhan Dwivedi – a virtual admission that the young Gandhi was shooting his mouth off. According to a CNN-IBN report, there’s is no clarity on mass graves and rapes in Bhatta village though all male members have fled fearing police action. Vimlesh, one of the women from Parsaul who met the prime minister on Monday, said, ``We have not seen any bodies…Women have been ill-treated but not here.’ ’On the deaths, she said that no one knows the truth. Birenderi and her daughter Khushboo, who were also part of Rahul Gandhi’s delegation, denied any information on rapes or mass murders in Bhatta-Parsaul. But they believed it since Rahul said so, the report said. The political drama is set to continue. All parties have started flexing their arms for the big show next year. Meanwhile, the original issue appears to have slipped from memory. There are no collective demand for a revamped and updated Land Acquisition Act yet. Neither is there one for a well-thought out compensation and rehabilitation package for people losing land for projects. Perhaps, the farmers will have to start their agitation from scratch again.