The Bahujan Samaj Party has described Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi's visit to Bhatta-Parsaul and neighbouring villages on Tuesday as a “drama enacted in the name of farmers' mahapanchayat.” The ruling party in Uttar Pradesh told Mr. Gandhi not to waste his time in the State.
A BSP spokesman said in a press release that if the Congress “yuvraj” was sensitive to the farmers' problems, he should compel the Centre to announce a policy like the pro-farmers Land Acquisition Policy of the Mayawati government.
The Congress had to be blamed for the farmers' plight in Uttar Pradesh, the spokesperson said. The BSP threatened to stall Parliament if a Bill on a national policy on land acquisition was not tabled in the coming monsoon session.
Stating that the May 6 violence in Bhatta and Parsaul villages was instigated by anti-social elements, the spokesman alleged that these elements enjoyed the patronage of the Congress.
