Lucknow: The Lucknow police have arrested two people, including a local leader of Samajwadi party, for throwing quintals of potatoes in front of the Vidhan Sabha building and outside Chief Minister's residence on January 6.
According to police, the arrested duo executed the dumping of potatoes with the intent to defame the Yogi government.
In a press conference called on Saturday, SSP Lucknow Deepak Kumar said: "There were no farmer unions behind this incident. Total six people were involved in the entire incident, two are arrested and rest will be arrested soon. The accused were identified and nabbed after the police investigated the CCTV footage of the localities where potatoes were dumped."
On the other hand, ex-CM of UP and Samajwadi Party National President, Akhilesh Yadav slammed police for booking a farmer who was related to Samajwadi Party and said that it seems police have nothing better to do than arresting farmers protesting for their rights.
“Farmers are in a problem as they are not getting the right price for their yield; on the other hand, our government is trying to prove that it was not done by farmers. What if the farmers who did it belong to our party? Are BJP people not into potato farming? The issue is about potato farmers, but our police are arresting them instead of arresting criminals in the state.”
“We are now asking farmers to gift potato to DM of their districts, after which we will ask them to gift one stray cattle to DMs. The government has failed in curbing crime in the state and now are arresting potato farmers," he added.
After a record production of 155-160 lakh metric tonne potatoes in Uttar Pradesh during 2016-17, the state government decided to buy the produce at a rate of Rs 487 per quintal. The procurement, of nearly one lakh metric tonne potatoes, was to start immediately.
Farmers, however, said they have not done anything wrong as this was a symbolic protest against the government and its policies.
Speaking to News18, Harnam Singh, farmer leader, said, “The government might have announced a basic MSP but the procurement is next to nil. Also, the support price of Rs 487 per quintal is not enough. They have not taken into account the money paid by farmers to store their produce in the cold storages. In such a situation, farmers are forced to dump their produce on roads.”
Singh added that the government was only interested in handing out figures about their help to farmers. “Figures don’t help or provide any relief to farmers. Farmers sit on dharna in this cold weather and no one cares. If the government does not wake up now, it will face consequences,” he said.
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