Hundreds of farmers and workers travelling towards Delhi to join a protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) were stopped by police at two locations in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, triggering confrontations and a sit-in demonstration at a toll plaza.
The farmers, affiliated with the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), were intercepted at Chapargarh village and the Yamuna Expressway toll plaza as they attempted to reach the national capital. Police used barricades to prevent their movement, leading to heated exchanges, pushing and shoving between protesters and personnel.
The farmers subsequently staged a sit-in at the toll plaza and raised slogans against the police action.
Rakesh Tikait calls on farmers to join protest
The mobilisation followed a call by BKU national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait, who had extended the union’s support to the CJP demonstration planned at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.
The protest was called to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Tikait had appealed to farmers, workers and young people to join the demonstration in Delhi. Those unable to travel to the capital were encouraged to hold protests at their respective district headquarters and submit memorandums addressed to the President through the district administration.
Hundreds of BKU-affiliated farmers set out in tractors and trolleys, but police restrictions prevented them from proceeding towards Delhi.
BKU accuses government of suppressing democratic rights
Pawan Khatana, the BKU’s national general secretary and state spokesperson, criticised the police action, arguing that farmers should have been allowed to travel to the capital to express their concerns.
“Stopping farmers from going to Delhi is the murder of democracy. The government should have listened to them instead of stopping them,” Khatana said.
The union announced that its sit-in at the toll plaza would continue in protest against the restrictions. It added that its next course of action would be decided according to directions from Tikait.
The confrontation added to tensions surrounding the planned CJP demonstration, which prompted heightened security arrangements and restrictions on protesters travelling towards Delhi.
Separate demonstration held in Greater Noida
In a separate development, members of the Kisan Sabha and Kisan Ekta Sangh staged a demonstration outside a high-rise residential complex in Greater Noida.
The protesters demanded the release of farmer leaders and activists detained during the police operation ahead of the planned Delhi demonstration. They also called for Gyanesh Kumar to resign as Chief Election Commissioner.
The parallel protest reflected the wider mobilisation by farmer organisations and activists against the detentions and the restrictions imposed ahead of the CJP-led demonstration.
The CJP has alleged irregularities in the electoral roll revision process, while the planned protest was intended to press for accountability from the Election Commission. The police action against those attempting to reach Delhi became a further point of contention as farmers and other groups challenged the restrictions on their movement.