The Bahujan Samaj Party targeted the Yogi Adityanath government over the “brutal lathicharge” on farmers protesting against inadequate payment or non-payment of compensation for their land acquired by the government for a township project in Unnao. The angry farmers also burnt their standing crop as a mark of protest.
In a tweet posted on Monday, BSP chief Mayawati said, “The state government needs to immediately resolve the land compensation dispute that has been going on for the past few days in Unnao. They should be sitting across with land owners rather than indulging in police lathi-charge and exploitation, which is highly condemnable. The government should take this very seriously.”
Following the protests, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday shared a 22-second video of the clash on Twitter.
“UP chief minister is making big speeches in Gorakhpur, but see the condition of his police. A farmer in Unnao is lying semi-conscious after being beaten by a laathi (stick). He is still being beaten up. There should be some shame. A person who grows grains for you is subjected to such cruelty,” she tweeted in Hindi.
For the past two days, farmers have been protesting in Unnao over inadequate compensation for their land acquired for Trans-Ganga City project that will come up near Kanpur.
On Sunday, some plastic pipes and two vehicles were set ablaze outside the godown of Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Authority (UPSIDA), a day after the farmers clashed with the police.
On Saturday, the protesting farmers clashed with the police when government officials visited the project site to clear encroachments.
Several farmers and three police personnel were injured in the incident.
Unnao District Magistrate Devendra Kumar Pandey has dismissed the claims of the protesters, saying that the farmers have been adequately compensated.