Farmers' stir: BJP cries foul over Rahul's dharna in Bhatta

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has strongly condemned the manner in which Rahul Gandhi has managed to hold a dharna in the Bhatta Parsaul area despite the prevalence of Section 144 in the region for the last few days.

Speaking to ToI, Rajya Sabha MP and spokesperson of the BJP Prakash Javadekar said that the manner in which Rahul Gandhi has been allowed to enter Bhatta Parsaul, while other political leaders trying to enter the area were detained, shows that a tacit political understanding is in place between the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the ruling party in Uttar Pradesh. "It is a clear case of political connivance between the Congress and the BSP. They are hand in glove with each other," Javadekar said.

Rahul Gandhi, along with senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh, entered the Bhatta Parsaul village early this morning to meet families of aggrieved farmers who have been protesting against forcible land acquisition in the area. Apart from going from door-to-door meeting families of farmers who have been arrested since Saturday's clash with the police, they have been holding a dharna in the village demanding immediate justice for the farmers.

The BJP has said that Rahul Gandhi did not manage to sneak-in because of the laxity of the district administration but the visit has been properly stage-managed. "While the Mayawati government fired bullets at agitating farmers and arrested other leaders trying to enter the region, they have allowed the Congress to safely sneak into the region," said Javadekar.