Farmers Movement Archive

Protesting farmers, BJP workers clash at UP Gate site near Delhi

Ghaziabad: Hundreds of workers from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and protesting farmers camping at UP Gate protest site in Ghaziabad briefly clashed on Wednesday afternoon, police said. The incident took place when the farmers, who were holding their protest on one side of the Delhi Meerut Expressway (DME) objected to a gathering of local BJP workers on the opposite lane to welcome a party leader.“They (BJP) were on the other side of the DME and the farmers objected to the gathering. We came to know about 10-15 minutes earlier that the BJP workers had gathered to welcome their leader. We rushed to the spot and controlled the situation,” said Gyanendra Kumar Singh, superintendent of police (city 2).Singh said both sides intend to file complaints against each other.BJP workers claim they had gathered near the starting point of the Hindon elevated road connecting to the expressway to welcome Amit Valmiki, the party’s newly-appointed secretary who was arriving from Delhi.“There were about 300-400 workers including 20-25 women...We were on the other side of the expressway (Delhi-Ghaziabad carriageway) near the starting point of the Hindon elevated road. The farmers were on the other side in their camps. Suddenly, hundreds of them came to our side by jumping the central verge and attacked us,” said Sanjeev Sharma, city president of the BJP’s Ghaziabad unit.He said several party workers including several women were injured and about 30-40 vehicles damaged. “Later, we met the district magistrate and senior superintendent of police and briefed them about the incident. A complaint will also be filed shortly,” Sharma, added. The farm leaders, on the other hand, contradicted the BJP charge, insisting that the attack on them was a conspiracy to malign their peaceful protest.The farm protest at UP Gate started on November 28 - they occupied the Ghaziabad-Delhi carriageway of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway as well a few days later -- against the three farm laws passed by the Centre that they say, will threaten their livelihoods by forcing them to sell to corporate giants with greater bargaining power at poor prices instead of government-run markets.The government insists the laws will bring competition and widen farmers’ market access.“It is a new conspiracy taken up by the BJP to malign the farmers’ movement. This has happened time and again. They came on the pretext of welcoming their leader and damaged their own cars. This is another conspiracy staged by them. We will shortly give a police complaint to the police,” said Jagtar Singh Bajwa, UP-Gate site spokesperson from ‘Samyukta Kisan Morcha.’Bajwa said they have been protesting peacefully for months and will remain peaceful. He asked the police to act against the BJP workers, adding that “if there is no action, we will decide the future course of action.”

Hindustan Times

30-06-2021

Noida