Bringing back the spotlight on Delhi after agitating over national issues, Swaraj Abhiyan leaders Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav and Anand Kumar on Sunday issued a public notice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding to convert the Delhi Race Course into a National Memorial for Farmers as well as creating a ‘Kisaan Haat’ on the lines of the Dilli Haat.
The trio, along with participants of the Jai Kisan Andolan, staged a protest in front of the Delhi Race Course. The protest sent the Delhi police in a tizzy while the leaders played hide and seek to reach the venue themselves as security was beefed up.
The Swaraj Abhiyan claimed, “The land was acquired from the farmers under the guise of public purpose and it is now being used as a gambling den in front of the Prime Minister’s House. Is this why land acquisition ordinance is needed? Swaraj Abhiyan demands Race Course land be used as a memorial for farmers who died in forcible land acquisition in independent India or those who were forced to commit suicide due to discrimination and neglect of agriculture by successive governments,” said activist-lawyer Bhushan. He added that the remaining place should be used as Kisaan Haat where farmers can come and sell their organic products. Swaraj Abhiayan said the lease of the land has long expired in 1998, but the land has still not been taken back by the government.
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