Thousands of supporters of the Rashtriya lok Dal (RlD) and the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) fought a pitched battle with Uttar Pradesh Police at Muradnagar on Thursday, resulting in injuries to as many as 20 people, including police personnel.
The protest came in the wake of the Government cracking the whip and disconnecting power and water supplies to official accommodations in Delhi of former Union Minist-ers and ex-MPs, including Ajit Singh, Jitendra Singh, and Mohd Azharuddin, who refu-sed to vacate their premises.
The protesters had gathered at Muradnagar to stop the water supply to Delhi in retaliation to the Union Gover-nment stopping the water supply to 12 Tughlak Road in Delhi, the official bungalow where former Union Minister and RlD chief Ajit Singh has been residing and has refused to vacate even though he lost the recently-held elections.
On Thursday morning BKU and RlD men took out a march towards Muradnagar, and attempted to cut off the water supply to Delhi from the Gangnahar Muradnagar regulator, despite a heavy police presence. They managed to break through the police cordon and laid a siege in order to stop the water supply to Sonia Vihar water treatment plant in Delhi.
Reacting to the development Ajit Singh said: “The people are angry with the kind of treatment that I have got. I know that I am not entitled to stay in this house. I am not an MP now. I had informed that I am going to shift by 24-25 September. Still the water and power was disconnected and that’s why people are angry.”
Apart from protesting the Centre's bid to evict Ajit Singh from the official bungalow, RlD and BKU are also demanding that the 12 Tughlak Road bungalow be converted into a memorial for late Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.
BKU spokesperson Rakesh Tikait said that 12, Tughlak Road holds a lot of significance for the farmers as Chaudhary Charan Singh resided there during his tenure as Prime Minister and Finance Minister of the country.
Afterward Chaudhary Charan Singh's son and former Union Minister Ajit Singh continued to reside in the same bungalow for many years. They feel that it is a just demand as official bungalows have been converted into memorials for late lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi, BSP leader Kanshi Ram and late Deputy Prime Minister Babu Jagjivan Ram.
"We are fighting for the honour of farmers. The Government had decided to convert the 12 Tughlak Road bungalow into Chaudhary Charan Singh Memorial years ago but the same was never notified. We have the papers in our possession in this regard" said Rakesh Tikait.
However, citing existing laws, the Centre has rejected the RlD and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's suggestions to convert the bungalow into a memorial for Charan Singh. Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu said that the Congress Chief Minister should have proposed this during the UPA's tenure.
Naidu said that it cannot be done so as the Union Cabinet in 2000 banned conversion of Government bungalows into memorials for departed leaders.
Meanwhile, Ajit Singh today said that the appeal for a memorial is a popular sentiment among farmers who keep visiting him at the Delhi residence and are attached to this house.
"From the past 36 years, and from the time I am staying here, many farmers who associate themselves with the name of Chaudhary Charan Singh keep coming here. So, there is an emotion attached and people want a memorial to be built in his memory," Singh said.
Relating the events of the day, Alok Sharma, IG, Meerut said:
"They (supporters) had given a call to cut the water supply to Delhi and for that 10,000 supporters of BKU and RlD had assembled at the regulator at Muradnagar. It was a volatile situation because the crowd had come out armed with stones and bottles."
As the crowd turned violent, police used water cannons, rubber bullets and live bullets to disperse the volatile mob. Station Officer of Vijay Nagar Police Station Arun Kumar Singh sustained injuries and was admitted to hospital.
RlD MlA Sudesh Sharma from Modinagar seat, Khair RlD MlA Bhagwati Prasad, Chhaprauli MlA Veerpal Rathi were also injured in the clash. An RlD activist Pappu from Rohta Village sustained a bullet injury and was rushed to Meerut hospital for treatment.
Before the protest turned violent, Meerut Range Inspector General of Police Alok Sharma, Deputy Inspector General K. Satyanarayan, District Magistrate Vimal Sharma met the farmers to thrash out the issue, but to no avail.
The protest also led to major traffic snarls and hardship for commuters as National Highway-24 and 56 were affected.Deputy Superintendent of Police, D K Mittal said that security has been tightened around the checkpost on Delhi-Dehradun National Highway as a precautionary measure.