Rahul Gandhi On move during his padyatra in UP land of Mayawati.
Aligarh: Rahul Gandhi on Saturday finished off his padyatra against the UP government by holding a mahapanchayat – with renewed rhetoric against Mayawati.
Responding to his critics at the grand finale of his four-day padyatra, Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi said, “People say this padyatra is a drama. But I say, so many farmers would not have died in UP if other leaders took the pain to talk to the people.”
At his mahapanchayat in Aligarh, a crowd of approximately 20000 people turn up at the Numaish Maidan – many of them farmers from western UP unhappy with the compensation they got from the Mayawati government. Rahul Gandhi promised them a land acquistion bill designed with their needs in mind.
“In case we make a law, I think, we should discuss the issues with you,” said Rahul.
But walking the talk may not be that easy. The UP election next year will be his single biggest test as a political leader. Mayawati is a formidible opponent and the 2004 assembly elections were a wash out for the Congress. The party hopes that Rahul’s Padyatra replicates the success of his mothers Jan Sampark Sabha’s in the 2004 elections. Despite the dais roof near collapse because of heavy rains, the signs on Saturday looked encouraging.
Rahul Gandhi has walked 75 km along the Yamuna Expressway – in the hope that it leaders straight to a victory in the very crucial UP elections next year. Mayawati may call it wishful thinking, but given the crowd that came to hear him speak in Aligarh, she may have reason to worry.
That’s perhaps explains the prompt dismissal of Rahul’s Padyatra by the BSP. In a statement issued moments after Rahul took off from Aligarh, the BSP said his reaching out to the farmers meant nothing.
“What has the Congress done for the farmers in last 50 years? Yuvraj of the Congress can’t solve farmers’ problems in just five minutes. BSP has done everything for the welfare of farmers of the state,” said the statement.
The farmers’ vote, coupled with the Muslim support, could cause a severe dent to the BSP’s numbers. But it’ll take more than a padyatra and a mahapanchayat for Rahul Gandhi to get a decent opening in Election 2012.
Braving heavy rains, farmers and Congress workers on Saturday gathered in Aligarh for the ‘kisan mahapanchayat’, marking the culmination of Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi’s four-day foot march in Uttar Pradesh.
Travelling in buses, trucks and tractor-trolleys, the villagers arrived from the wee hours at the sprawling Nomaish Ground, amid tight security.
Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid, Union Ministers Sachin Pilot and Jitin Prasad and state unit president Rita Bahuguna Joshi were among those present.
Gandhi arrived at Aligarh’s exhibition grounds post noon to address a massive farmers’ gathering in a show of political strength against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati.
Delayed by rains, the Gandhi flew into the district and later reached the local exhibition grounds amid loud cheers from hundreds of farmers. He was flanked by All India Congress Committee in-charge Digvijay Singh and Joshi.
At the venue, which was soggy following rains through the morning, farmers, Congress leaders and supporters parked themselves wherever they found space.
While some occupied the wet chairs available on the compound, others, who were not so lucky, sat on rooftops around the venue.
The scene was one of frenzy and chaos in Aligarh, as traffic jams dotted the city and incessant rains made the life tough for commuters and visitors to the exhibition grounds.
The roads remained sealed to offer safe passage to Gandhi, who will listen to farmers’ grievances for over three hours as part of his ‘kisan mahapanchayat’ programme.
Hundreds of police personnel have been deployed and a control room set up in a nearby hotel, from where authorities are keeping a watch on the venue.
“This is the first ever time a national party of the stature of the Congress has organised such a huge gathering of farmers,” Joshi told the ‘mahapanchayat’.
We have come because we are hopeful that Rahul Gandhi’s leadership will herald change in Uttar Pradesh,” said a Congress leader from Meerut J P Singh, who has been camping at the grounds since Saturday night.
With Congress leaders and workers thronging the town, no hotel accommodation was available in the area.
Huge posters of Rahul Gandhi dominated the complex. Four big hoardings on the stage had pictures of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Rahul, Joshi and Digvijay Singh.
A multi-tier security ring was in place in and around the venue. On Thursday, Rahul faced a security scare when a young man carrying a licensed revolver was detained while trying to move close to him in Tappal during the ‘padyatra’.
Rahul on Friday wound up his foot march through the dusty heartlands of rural Uttar Pradesh and returned to Delhi.
Sahim Salim in Aligarh
Rediff.com’s Sahim Salim has been following Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi throughout his walkathon. He reports on the massive preparations for Rahul’s ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’ in Aligarh, the last stop of his journey
100,000 — That is the total number of people expected at Aligarh, the venue of Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Farmer’s Rally’ on Saturday.
Workers frantically dropped dry mud over poodles of rainwater across the ground. Struggling for time, they shovelled mud from a truck that turned turtle the night before.
Others put up posters and banners with live-size photos of the Gandhi scion and Digvijay Singh. Still others barked orders at workers to put the Congress tri-color around the three different stages being erected for the rally.
“We have to get it done by 12 am tonight (Friday night),” says an anxious Beeri Singh Banjara, district speaker, Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee Aligarh unit, who is one of the organisers.
The rally, which has been christened ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’ and will be held at the Numaish Grounds, will be the culmination point of Rahul’s four-day Padyatra (Walkathon), which covered over 70 kilometers, 30 villages and four districts across western Uttar Pradesh.
The sheer numbers expected to attend the rally is overwhelming.
“We have calculated, on basis of information coming from across the districts, at least 100,000 farmers to turn up. This is actually a modest estimate — we think far more will turn up on Saturday,” Banjara says.
Over 300,000 square feet of water-proof, overhead tents have almost been set up.
As information pours in that more farmers may turn up than expected, organisers have extended the overhead tents across the ground. For respite from the sweltering Uttar Pradesh heat, they have set up over 100 desert coolers and 200 stand fans.
Several water taps have been set across the sprawling ground, which will get its supply from 40 water tanks and six municipality tankers.
Several thousand buses and tractors will bring the expected 100,000 farmers to Aligarh.
In Aligarh district itself, over 500 buses and 1000 tractors have been hired to bring villagers from hundreds of villages across the district. Similarly, 200 buses and 800 tractors have been hired in Agra.
Malkan Singh Desmukh, the general secretary of Agra Youth Congress, says: “After Aligarh, we expect the maximum number of farmers from Agra. So we have hired the required number of buses to transport them into the city.”
Three podiums have been erected for the rally. One podium will seat the chief guests — Rahul Gandhi and Digvijay Singh.
On the left of this podium is the VVIP stand, where state and district leaders will be seated. On the right to Rahul’s podium, prominent farmers, who have been affected by Mayawati’s land acquisition, will be seated. The affected farmers will interact with Rahul from this podium.
About 5000 Congress workers have been pushed into organising the rally, who started the work about 12 days ago.
Sahim Salim
Sahim Salim chronicles day four of Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi’s padyatra through the dusty villages of western Uttar Pradesh.
“Bande mein dam hain yaar. Aise AC kamre chodke gaanv ke sadko pe chalna mazaak nahi hain. Dekh lena, iski mehnat ka fal meetha hoga. (This guy has guts, man. It is not a joke to leave air conditioned rooms to walk through the streets of villages. You wait and watch, for him, the fruits of his efforts will surely be sweet,” a villager of Chandpur village quipped to his friend about Rahul Gandhi.
That is the popular sentiment in villages Gandhi has covered.
When we asked him if he would vote for Gandhi, the villager, Radha Charan said, “It is too soon to decide now. But yes, the way he has been walking is unbelievable. Most of the villagers had thought that he would walk for a couple of hours a day, before stopping.”
“But that has not been so. He has walked for hours every day and broke bread at our houses. He has listened to our complaints, which Mayawati never did. Yes, I will consider him, because his hard work has appealed to me,” he said.
Gandhi, in his fourth day of his padyatra (walkathon), has covered over 70 kilometers on foot, across 30 villages and four districts. The only common link between these villages is the under-construction, sprawling 165-km long Yamuna Expressway.
Impressive, one would say.
As he walked from one village to the next, not minding the rough roads and the specially hot and humid weather on Friday, it was difficult keeping up. And because of his sheer grit, the number of people following him has increased multi-fold.
On Friday, as he walked the Ghangoli village in Aligarh district to Chandpur in Mathura, there were about 500 people — mostly farmers — following him. A day before, only about a 100 gave him company.
The 41-year-old leader addressed the people in a question-answer format on Friday. Along the way in different villages, he knocked and entered random houses to ask the women-folk how they were. In Deva Kannagla village, he walked around with his arm around the shoulder of an elderly woman.
“I was just telling him that I was happy under the governance of Indira Gandhi. I asked him to bring back similar governance. He was so friendly; I almost felt like I was talking to my own son,” a shy Omwati said.
“He advised my husband not to accept anything under the market price for our land. He is right. Why should we part with our precious land for a government who fires at us if we tell them our problems?” Omwati asked.
As he walked from one village to the next, not minding the rough roads and the specially hot and humid weather on Friday, it was difficult keeping up. And because of his sheer grit, the number of people following him has increased multi-fold.
On Friday, as he walked the Ghangoli village in Aligarh district to Chandpur in Mathura, there were about 500 people — mostly farmers — following him. A day before, only about a 100 gave him company.
The 41-year-old leader addressed the people in a question-answer format on Friday. Along the way in different villages, he knocked and entered random houses to ask the women-folk how they were. In Deva Kannagla village, he walked around with his arm around the shoulder of an elderly woman.
“I was just telling him that I was happy under the governance of Indira Gandhi. I asked him to bring back similar governance. He was so friendly; I almost felt like I was talking to my own son,” a shy Omwati said.
“He advised my husband not to accept anything under the market price for our land. He is right. Why should we part with our precious land for a government who fires at us if we tell them our problems?” Omwati asked.
‘If the UP govt wants, they can pay you at the market rate’
Gandhi himself was at his wittiest best. As he was addressing a crowd at Ghangoli village, a man interrupted his speech asking if he could speak for two minutes.
“Aur mere do minute ka kya hoga, Bhaiyya? (And what will happen to my two minutes, brother?)” Gandhi asked to roaring laughter from the villagers. On day four, he also was at his provocative best too.
“Normally robberies happen at night. Here in Uttar Pradesh, your government is stealing from you in broad daylight. They forcefully acquire your land at a rate that is way below the market rate. You might think farmers in Noida are getting paid the market rate. Yes, they are being paid more, but even that amount is not the market rate,” Gandhi said at Chandpur village.
“There is no dearth of money with the government. If the UP governments so desires, they can pay you the right amount of money,” Gandhi added. He said that land acquisition was happening everywhere, from Haryana, Orissa, Andhra to even West Bengal.
‘Mayawati government’s intent is bad’
“But farmers are losing their land in such an unfair manner only in Uttar Pradesh. We, in New Delhi can bring a new policy. But we cannot guarantee its implementation in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
“The existing law, if followed with good intent, can be fair, but the intent of the Mayawati government itself is bad. So, no matter what laws are in place, if intent is not right, you can still be taken for a ride,” Gandhi added.
He told the villagers that it was from them that he learnt so much.
“Before undertaking this Padyatra, I met a lot of people in Delhi — bureaucrats, politicians, Non-Governmental Organisation workers — to know about your problems. It is only after meeting you that I have really understood you. You are as intelligent as the law maker. I believe that you have to be included in the dialogue that decides the formulation of laws affecting you,” Gandhi said.
Rahul went that extra mile for rural India
With just the right amount of rhetoric, provocation and promises, Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi’s much-publicised padyatra struck a chord. Each step he took looked impromptu — there were no announcements or itineraries or discussions.
And it worked.
The farmers followed him as he undertook his walk through the dusty villages of western Uttar Pradesh, braving the miles of untarred roads, the humid climate and the tiring journey.
Having walked for a good 27 km on Wednesday, Gandhi had chosen a house at random in Sairol village, Aligarh district.
Villagers looked in disbelief as Gandhi waived away Congress workers’ help in securing a good place for him to spend the night. He walked through the village after interacting with the villagers in the temple courtyard and stopped in front of a house.
Breakfast with Rahul Gandhi
The Congress leader talked with Harkesh, who also lost his land to acquisition, well into the night. He finally dozed off at 12.30 hours on a charpoy in Harkesh’s open courtyard. He woke up at 5.15 hours took a bath, had tea with Harkesh and resumed his padyatra at 6.45 hours.
The next six hours would see him shuffle between four villages and cover over 20 km. He covered Kripalpur, Khangru, Kansera before finally stopping for lunch and a nap at Sibroli. At about 17.00 hours, he undertook a 5 km walk to Zikrapur before stopping for the night at Marorgadi.
Each stop Gandhi made, he interacted with the villagers from a courtyard of a temple or a school. He was vocal against the Mayawati government to the point of daring her.
Lucknow is stealing your land: Rahul
I have seen with my own eyes the brutality with which the Mayawati government acted in Bhatta Parsaul. It seems that the Uttar Pradesh government has forgotten that the role of the government is to hear the people. Instead, the government just takes away your land without even informing you,” said Gandhi addressing villagers at Sibroli.
“You have been paid Rs 570 per square metre but the original price of land is Rs 10,000. Who is stealing? Your government is stealing, Lucknow is stealing and that too without even consulting you,” Gandhi said addressing a similar crowd at Marorgadi.
Gandhi also promised that in the next session of Lok Sabha, the United Progressive Alliance government will introduce an effective Land Acquisition Bill passed in the favour of the farmers.
Image: Rahul Gandhi promised to introduce Land Acquisition Bill in the next Lok Sabha session
Breakfast with Rahul Gandhi
The Congress leader talked with Harkesh, who also lost his land to acquisition, well into the night. He finally dozed off at 12.30 hours on a charpoy in Harkesh’s open courtyard. He woke up at 5.15 hours took a bath, had tea with Harkesh and resumed his padyatra at 6.45 hours.
The next six hours would see him shuffle between four villages and cover over 20 km. He covered Kripalpur, Khangru, Kansera before finally stopping for lunch and a nap at Sibroli. At about 17.00 hours, he undertook a 5 km walk to Zikrapur before stopping for the night at Marorgadi.
Each stop Gandhi made, he interacted with the villagers from a courtyard of a temple or a school. He was vocal against the Mayawati government to the point of daring her.
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Said Harkesh, ”I made it very clear to Rahulji that what he is doing is admirable, but unless the Congress comes out with a good alternative bill to replace the age old law that Mayawati is using to take our land, they don’t have a future in UP.”
Though many people flocked to hear Gandhi speak, there were many who did not attend the interaction.
Rahul’s visit just a political game, feel some villagers
A villager of Sibroli Harish Chander said, “This is nothing but a political game. He is blaming the Mayawati government for grabbing our lands and using force to contain us. Yes, this is a serious issue but what is the UPA government doing at the Centre?” he said.
“They too used force to evict more than 20,000 people who were protesting against corruption and black money. Moreover, the UPA government has been responsible for the unbearable inflation,” he added.
A villager of Kripalpur, Manish Kumar said, “Rahul Gandhi is trying to project the UPA’s image as people-friendly but inflation is the biggest enemy of a common man. Till they curb it, they can’t call themselves people-friendly.”
Firing a fresh salvo at the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said dalals (touts) were running the show as people of the state were ‘divided’.
“You are not together. Uttar Pradesh is divided and that is why dalals (touts) are running the state,” Rahul said, addressing people in this village on the third day of his padayatra to Aligarh.
“You may not like it. But this is true. Since you are not together that is why this is happening here. Unless you unite, you will continue to suffer. Unless you don’t understand what is happening, the train will not come on its track,” the young Congress leader told the villagers.
Rahul began his footmarch on Thursday from Sarole village in the district at 6.30 am and walked about 7 km to reach Kirpalpur on his way to Aligarh, where he is slated to address a ‘kisan mahapanchayat’ on July 9.
‘I wish to help everyone’
Rahul said he had come all the way from Delhi to convey his concerns to farmers and the people of Uttar Pradesh.
“I started my padayatra from Bhatta-Parsaul, which saw the operation by the Mayawati government on farmers in which many people were killed,” he said.
“I wanted to meet you personally and hear to your problems,” he told the farmers.
Rahul said: “I have met a number of farmers so far and have not met a single one who does not want development. All farmers wish to get involved in the development process and in the progress of the state. Your land is pure. It is being taken away from you forcibly and they don’t give adequate price.”
“I am with you irrespective of caste. For me, everyone are human beings. I wish to help everyone and the people of Uttar Pradesh,” he added.
Citing the example of neighbouring state of Congress-ruled Haryana, Rahul lauded its land acquisition policy and said ‘farmers were happy in Haryana and there are no problems there’.
“Unlike here (UP), in Haryana there were no dharnas either as the farmers were paid market rates for their land acquired. That is not done here,” he said.
He also lamented that no other state has acquired as much land as done by the Uttar Pradesh government.
“No farmer is saying that we are against the building of roads of development, but we want to get involved in this development process. It is the government’s duty to include all of them in this development process. Wherever I go the farmers are ready to give land but are asking for their rights,” the Congress leader said.
He also compared the policy of the two states while acquiring the agriculture land.
“While in Uttar Pradesh the farmer land is taken away forcibly, in Haryana farmers are paid adequate compensation, help and employment.”
Citing the example of neighbouring state of Congress-ruled Haryana, Rahul lauded its land acquisition policy and said ‘farmers were happy in Haryana and there are no problems there’.
“Unlike here (UP), in Haryana there were no dharnas either as the farmers were paid market rates for their land acquired. That is not done here,” he said.
He also lamented that no other state has acquired as much land as done by the Uttar Pradesh government.
“No farmer is saying that we are against the building of roads of development, but we want to get involved in this development process. It is the government’s duty to include all of them in this development process. Wherever I go the farmers are ready to give land but are asking for their rights,” the Congress leader said.
He also compared the policy of the two states while acquiring the agriculture land.
“While in Uttar Pradesh the farmer land is taken away forcibly, in Haryana farmers are paid adequate compensation, help and employment.”