On a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed Yoga on International Yoga Day in lucknow, farmers led by Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) staged protest on highways across Uttar Pradesh and performed `shavasan’ to protest 'anti-farmer policies' of the BJP-ruled state governments.
"Farmers are disappointed with the BJP as the ruling party in UP and the Centre, have failed to honour promises made during the lok Sabha and later Assembly polls. Farmers are being denied the most basic thing—remunerative price for produce. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath announced Minimum Support Price for potato and promised that agencies would purchase it from farmers but nothing happened. In fact, the Yogi regime is yet to fulfil the promise of farm loan waiver even as the cabinet decided to waive off outstanding loans in the first week of April,’’ charged BKU spokesman Harnam Singh Verma.
The BKU leader said that though the CM has asked banks to stop sending notices of recovery to farmers, the farmers who are eligible for loan waiver were still getting notices from banks.
"With empty stomach, you cannot expect farmers to do Yoga. Hence we are doing `shavasaan,’’said Verma while leading protestors in Barabanki.
Farmers are angry over the killing of six farmers in police firing in Mandsaur (Madhya Pradesh) and reports of farmers committing suicide in UP have only added fuel to fire.
Verma said that several thousand farmers protested across Uttar Pradesh by blocking highways. While the highways in western UP witnessed almost total disruption, traffic was partially affected in eastern UP. The worst affected were Baghpat, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Shamli and Muzaffarnagar.
Reports of similar protests were reported from Varanasi, Bahraich, Aligarh, Barabanki, Sitapur, Hardoi, Unnao and Allahabad.
It was a piquant situation as highways were strewn with wheat, sugarcane, potato and other vegetable while the farmers performed `shavasan’. There was no slogan shouting. Some of the farmers were doing other Yogic asanas while a majority lay down on mats out on the highways. The protest that started at 9 am continued till 12 noon.
“It was a peaceful protest. It was decided on Tuesday in the meeting that farmers will not cause inconvenience to masses and refrain from creating untoward situation. This protest was to show our anguish against the BJP-led governments,” the BKU spokesman said.
Verma said that school going children, office-goers and Emergency services like supply of milk or movement of ambulances or police vehicles were exempted from the road blockade.
ADG, law and order, Aditya Mishra claimed that the farmers protest did not disrupt life anywhere in the state. “There were minor blockades but these were removed and traffic was restored,” he said.