Farmers in UP take out tractor rally to Raj Bhavan

Following a call for protest against the farm laws by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) and Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, hundreds of farmers with their tractors gathered at Gosaiganj area on the ourskirts of Lucknow to reach Raj Bhavan in a show of strength.

The farmers dispersed after submitting their memorandum to senior officials, including Governor’s Additional Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) and Lucknow Police Commissioner, said BKU state vice-president Harinam Singh Verma.

According to Verma, a few hundred tractors and over 8,000 men gathered at Kabirpur in Gosaiganj. He will go to Delhi to attend the tractor rally on January 26, the Republic Day, and the farmers who will not head to Delhi will roll out similar rallies in their blocks and tehsils.

“Today, our plan was to submit memorandum to all the Governors across the country. Our main demand is that the three farm laws be repealed. However, our demands are also related to sugarcane payments and non-purchase of produce on the MSP. Besides, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath repeatedly says that the ongoing “andolan (protest)” is not being held in Uttar Pradesh, but only in Punjab and Haryana. We wanted to answer him with a show of strength. If they would have thought that the “andolan” comprised only a few people, they would not have tried to restrict our movement,” Verma said.

Lucknow Police Commissioner D K Thakur said the farmers’ protest was peaceful. He claimed that the gathering had around 500 participants.