Rahul to PM : Farmers killed, women raped

On land acquisition issue in Uttar Pradesh Rahul Met the Prime Minister, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday complained to him about alleged "repression" and "murder" of farmers in the Mayawati-ruled state.

Rahul Gandi in his media briefing after emerging from an half-an-hour meeting, with PM,Rahul Gandhi young Prince of Indian Politics stunned his audience with eloquent speech:Gandhi alleged huge heaps of ash carrying burnt bodies have been found in the villages where farmers were agitating for better compensation for their land acquired by Maaywati government.In order to substantiate his allegation, Gandhi showed the Prime Minister pictures purportedly of bodies burnt and other forms of violence against farmers and their family members."The issue here is a more fundamental one with regard to these villages in particular and a large number of villages in UP all down the Agra highway, where state repression is being used, where people are being murdered."
The rate of compensation is properly revised the years, it said.

"Quite severe atrocities taking place there....There is a set of large 74 heaps of ash there with dead bodies inside. Everybody in the village knows it. We can give you pictures. Women have been raped, people have been thrashed. Houses have been destroyed," Gandhi told reporters.

Rahul Gandhi the AICC general secretary said he was "very concerned" about what was going on in the villages there and facilitated the meeting of farmers with the Prime Minister so that they can put forward their views and the PM listened to it. It was a delegation of eight persons.To a question why the Centre is yet to amend the Land Acquisition Act even as he had met the Prime Minister even last year with the same demand, Gandhi said it was taking time as the legislation was a complex one.

Media reports is, BSP said Congress is indulging in rumour mongering and cheap politics. "Instead of wasting his energy on leveling false accusations against BSP government, the Gandhi scion should ensure amendment to the Land Acquisition Act, 1894," the BSP party release said.BSP in regards of the violence at Bhatta-Parsaul on May 7, herein four people were killed was not related to land acquisition. "The issue of compensation for the land acquired from villagers was settled in 2009. But, some anti-social elements are now instigating farmers against the state government," the release said. It also alleged that opposition parties provided illegal guns to anti-social elements who created disturbance in the village. "These elements were responsible for attack on police and district officers, which left two policemen dead and a district magistrate critically injured," BSP official said.

The rate of compensation is properly revised every year over the years, BSP said
and currently farmers are paid Rs 44 lakh per acre compensation on the acquisition of the land in Noida and Rs 36 lakh per acre in Greater Noida,for national highway Rs 22 lakh to Rs 35 lakh per acre for land acquisition under Yamuna Expressway Authority.NOIDA paid Rs 20 Lakhs per acre in year 2006-07 and now paid Rs 44 Lakh per acre.These rates are better than allocated by Central government.

PTI) BSP today reacted sharply to Rahul Gandhi's meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the farmers' issue in Uttar Pradesh, saying the Congress should stop indulging in "petty politics" of spreading rumours.

"The allegations of the Congress that a large number of lives were lost in Bhatta Parsaul and women were raped are baseless," a BSP spokesman said here, adding that the Congress should stop playing "petty politics" on the issue.

The Congress has been playing such political drama in Uttar Pradesh to regain its lost ground and Rahul Gandhi's meeting with the Prime Minister is another such attempt, the spokesman said.

Accusing the Congress of misguiding the innocent farmers of Bhatta Parsaul, the spokesman underlined that there was no problem relating to land acquisition in that village.