Trying to capitalise on farmers’ issue and corner the three-year-old Bharatiya Janta Party government at the Centre, UP Congress chief Raj Babbar joined agitated farmers in Mandola hamlet of Ghaziabad on Saturday.
Babbar promised all help of his party in their struggle to get adequate compensation for their lands acquired for affordable housing projects. The farmers have been pressurising authorities to revise the compensation for lands acquired under Avas Vikas housing scheme.
UPCC spokesman Zeeshan Haider said that Raj Babbar, who reached Mandola on Saturday morning and addressed the protesting cultivators, said that the Congress will fight for the welfare of farmers till they get appropriate compensation. Babbar assured that if the administration tried to demolish the houses of farmers of Mandola, Congress will vehemently oppose it and take the fight to the streets to seek justice for the aggrieved.
Haider said that the UP Congress chief also met families who were injured in a lathi charge on agitated farmers. He assured that party vice-president Rahul Gandhi has taken up the fight of farmers to ensure better future and assured that each party worker was behind them in their fight.
Meanwhile Congress also condemned the action of Yogi government against students of lucknow University, who were arrested and suspended for pointing out wrong doings of the varsity administration.
Haider said that the manner in which the government tried to crush the voice of students only points that the Yogi regime was following the footstep of Narendra Modi, who did not spare anyone, even the media, when it exposed misdeeds of the Union Government. Haider said that it was the right of every citizen to protest before the CM if any injustice was done.
The Congress leader demanded that if Yogi was against misuse of money, particularly of students, then he must get the matter at the lU probed and act against the varsity authorities responsible for organising the function. H also demanded the immediate release of students and withdrawal of cases against them and their suspension.
last Wednesday, 11 lU students including two girls owing allegiance to Samajwadi Party students wing blocked the convoy of Chief Minister and waved black flags at him. All of them were arrested and sent to jail.
Of them, eight students were also suspended by the lucknow University on charges of breaching the CM’s security. The lucknow University also claimed that the students have been debarred from all student facilities in varsity. The activists alleged that a BJP programme was being held at the expense of the university and students.