Varanasi: At least 29 Samajwadi Party leaders and office-bearers were arrested after they staged demonstration at district headquarters here on Monday in protest against the arrest of party president Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow.
Similar arrests were made in Akhilesh’s parliamentary constituency Azamgarh and other districts of the region while Leader of Opposition in state assembly Ram Govind Chawdhary lead the Kisan Yatra on a tractor in Ballia.
In view of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s call for taking out Kisan Yatra in all districts on the eve of Bharat Bandh call given by farmers protesting in Delhi, the district unit party leaders were busy in preparations when the men in khaki started arriving at the homes of leaders and office bearers.
SP’s Varanasi city unit chief Vinshu Sharma said heavy police force was deployed outside his house following which he had to climb the terrace of his neighbour to reach Ashapur to take part in Kisan Yatra.
Many senior leaders like former minister Surendra Patel and district unit chief Sujit Yadav had also been stopped at their homes by police while many were called to police stations and had to stay there till further orders, Sharma added.
SSP Amit Pathak said police went to the residences of many leaders and also called some others to respective police stations to make them aware about prohibitory orders having been promulgated in the district to prevent gatherings.
Despite the measures initiated by police, several SP leaders reached Ashapur crossing to carry out a Kisan Yatra and held a meeting in support of the farmers’ stir and Bharat Bandh call.
They were returning from the meeting when news of SP chief’s arrest in Lucknow came following which dozens of party leaders reached district headquarters and staged demonstration shouting anti-government slogans.
SP City Vikas Chandra Tripathi said 29 protesters had been arrested and taken to police lines in a van. They were released in the evening on furnishing personal bonds, he added.
In Azamgarh, several SP leaders and workers, led by former minister Durga Prasad Yadav were arrested after they foiled police bid to stop them inside party office and staged a sit-in on road. They all were sent to police lines. Yadav said his party would not stop its struggle for the farmers despite all the attempts of crushing their democratic protest.
He led a tractor procession from Sukhpura crossing to Bansdih tehsil headquarters via Beruabari area under the banner of ‘Kisan Bachao, Khet Bachao’ stir and termed the farm reforms as black law.
SP’s protests were also evident in Chandauli, where a procession was taken out from Sakaldiha to district headquarters. The party workers participating in the procession were arrested on reaching Chakia crossing.
In Mirzapur, several SP leaders and workers led by district unit chief Devi Chawdhary offered prayer at Vindhyachal temple before carrying out their procession and reaching Lohia crossing, where they were stopped by police.