Lathi-charged for crossing Vajpayee’s path

NEW DELHI, Oct 2 (UNI) — Farmers gathered to observe Kisan Divas on the occasion of the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri were allegedly lathi-charged by the police at Shantivan here today, their leader said.

President of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ambawata) Rishipal Ambawata said in a statement here that some of the farmers, who had come for the Kisan Divas rally at Vijay Ghat went to visit Shantivan, the cenotaph of Jawaharlal Nehru.

However, as the farmers came in the way of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s convoy, which was then crossing Shantivan, the farmers were lathi-charged.

Condemning the baton charge, the BKU leader said that some farmers, including the party’s Madhya Pradesh chief Veerbhan Singh, were injured.

The police, however, denied that there was a lathi charge and said that the farmers, who were trying to obstruct the Prime Minister’s way, were only pushed back and not beaten up.

Earlier, the BKU rally demanded that the government introduce a farmers credit card and crop insurance.

Addressing the farmers, former Agriculture Minister Chaturanan Mishra said that hundreds of farmers had committed suicide during the past year as they could not get out of the debt trap. Schemes like the farmers credit card were essential to prevent such deaths, he added.