Rahul Gandhi finds another Kalavati

On Wednesday Rahul spent three hours in the hut of this woman in Parsaul village while supporting the farmers' agitation in up. He was arrested by the local police and then granted bail late at night

Rahul Gandhi finds another Kalavati

On Wednesday Rahul spent three hours in the hut of this woman in Parsaul village while supporting the farmers' agitation in UP. He was arrested by the local police and then granted bail late at night

During his May 2008u00a0 trip to Vidarbha, Rahul Gandhi spent a few hoursu00a0 at the humble home of poor Dalit widowu00a0u00a0Kalavati Bandurkar. It was deja vu on Wednesday.

Leading the charge: Rahul Gandhi listens to a villager during his
visit in support of farmers in Greater Noida on Wednesday.

"He has come like God and will change the lives of these villagers," said the wife of Rampal Singh (she didn't want to disclose her name) who looked after the Gandhi scion when he decided to rest at Bhatta Parsaul yesterday. Taking on Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday joined the land war there, pledging full support to farmers fighting against landu00a0 acquisition and promising not to desert them till their demands were met.

The woman at whose home Rahul rested for a while during his trip.
pic/imtiyaz khan

Rough ride
Rahul had left his home at 4 am and sneaked into the village at around 5.45 am yesterday, riding pillion on a motorcycle. He sat with the agitating farmers throughout the day in scorching heat to empathise with their cause. He walked across two villages and studied the footprints of violence. At around 2.30 pm, he decided to take a breather at the house of Satveer Singh (Rampal's father), next to the chaupal.

While Rahul took a break, his SPG commandoes went to the terrace of each house to check the security measures. So the villagers got to catch a glimpse of the 'PM-in-waiting'. Rahul Gandhi didn't speak much but asked the residents about their problems and assured them he would do everything possible to give them a better living. "Rahul's head was aching so he decided to take rest. He slept on an ordinary bed; he showed no attitude. He appeared to be like us and has promised to solve our problems," said Rampal's wife. We are honoured that Rahul Gandhi came to our home. Although we don't have too much to show as far as facilities are concerned but Rahul acted like a very simple man," she added.

AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi went to Bhatta Parsaul in
Greater Noida on Wednesday to pledge his support to agitating
farmersu00a0Pics/imtiyaz khan

Age no bar
Young kids also flocked at the chaupal of Parsaul village without even knowing who Rahul Gandhi was. "I don't know who he is, but he is our hero. My father has told me," said seven-year-old Ramesh, who came from Dhankaur with his father. Rahul has come as a ray of hope for farmers in these villages, who claim to have received little or no help from the local administration. "As I saw Rahul Gandhi on TV, I took the bus and reached Parsaul village at 2.30 pm. I will try to tell him our problems and ask him to visit our village. It is so encouraging to see him listening to farmers' problems," said Ravinder Solanki, whose father is a farmer near Aligarh.

Rahul Gandhi listens to a villager during his dharna in support of
farmers at Bhatta Parsaul in Greater Noida on Wednesday

"I want to tell you that I am with you till your demands are met. Till your work is done, the Congress party will not desert you," Rahul said to a thunderous applause from the gathering which shouted slogans hailing him.

Bringing hope
He said an official had told him that the agitation was like 'naxalism' but he had found that the farmers were making their demands peacefully. Gandhi demanded a judicial inquiry into the exchange of fire last Saturday between farmers and the police in which two farmers and two policemen were killed. Rahul visited the village along with party colleague Digvijay Singh. Both leaders heard the farmers out and had tea with them. They also visited various hamlets.

SDM Vishal Singh met Rahul and asked him to end the dharna keeping in mind the potential security risk to him
in view of the situation in the area. Singh also expressed inability to provide security as he had come without
intimation. But the young Congress leader told the official that unless their demands were met he would not leave the village. The demands also included release of detained farmers.

'Take action'
Digvijay Singh said that till a judicial inquiry submitted a report, no action should be taken against the farmers in respect of FIRs lodged against them. He also demanded that all arrested farmers be released and that there should not be any forcible land acquisition. Caught unawares, the district administration on Wednesday said it could not stop anyone from coming here as the prohibitory orders were revoked on Tuesday night.

"Section 144 of CrPC (Criminal Procedure Code) enforced earlier had already been revoked last night. We did not specially facilitate Rahul Gandhi's visit, but in a democracy, everybody has the right to present his grievances in a peaceful manner," said Sheetal Verma, the acting district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar.
"The administration is keeping an eye on the farmers' dharna," she added. However, late at night both Rahul and Digvijay and some other Congress leaders were arrested by the local police. They are likely to be presented in an SDM court today. With the state going for elections next year, the Congress is making all efforts to reach out to the masses and farmers comprise a substantial vote bank in Uttar Pradesh.

Political game?
While Chief Minister Mayawati and her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have criticised the agitation, saying it is 'based on misinformation and is politically motivated', opposition parties -- the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress -- have extended support to the affected farmers. The farmers are agitating for higher compensation regarding land taken for constructing the 156km Yamuna Expressway, which will link New Delhi with Agra and reduce travel time by an hour. The violence was sparked after angry farmers held three employees of the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation hostage. When the police tried to rescue the government employees, the farmers fought a pitched battle that led to the deaths in exchange of firing.

'Stop the drama'
The BJP on Wednesday asked the Centre and Congress not to indulge in theatrics on the farmer agitation and sought to know what was preventing it from taking action against the Mayawati government despite having powers. Former BJP President Rajnath Singh said when he tried to visit Bhatta Parsaul village in Greater Noida to support the farmers' agitation, he was not allowed as Section 144 (curfew) was in force. "But Section 144 was lifted when two Congress General Secretaries Rahul Gandhi and Digvijay Singh went there. Now they are sitting on a dharna there. I appeal to Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to do any nautanki (theatrics) in the biggest state of the country," Rajnath Singh told reporters. He demanded that Sonia should ask the two Congress leaders to come back from the village. The senior BJP leader wondered why the UPA government is not taking any action against the Mayawati-led BSP regime despite the situation going "from bad to worse" in the state.