60 SP members booked for burning UP CM Yogi’s effigy

The Noida police on Wednesday registered a case against more than 60 members of the Samajwadi Party (SP) for allegedly burning an effigy of chief minister Yogi Adityanath during a protest held “without police permission”, officers said.One protester was also taken into custody, they added.

The protesters were booked for allegedly burning the effigy outside the Surajpur collectorate office during the protest over land acquisition and compensation for farmers, police said.

The SP members, however, refuted the claims, and said that “permission was obtained to conduct the protest.”

Identifying some of the party members, deputy commissioner of police (Central Noida) Shakti Mohan Avasthy said, “Mohit Nagar, Lokesh Kumar, Nitin Bhadana, Mohit Tomar alias Nawabi, JP Yadav, Badal and 60 unknown persons burnt an effigy…without police permission and all the people fled from the spot after burning the effigy, in relation to which Surajpur Police Station has registered a case…and necessary action is being taken.”

SP district president Sudhir Bhati said, “Our protest will continue, and we have been instructed by the SP high command to carry out these actions and speak up for the farmers. The idea to burn the effigy was not pre-planned; it simply happened as part of the protest.”

SP will organise another demonstration outside the Surajpur Collectorate on November 25.

Farmers have been protesting in GB Nagar against a report of the government’s three-member committee formed to address the grievances of farmers whose land was acquired for the development of Noida, Greater Noida, and the Yamuna Expressway areas.

The committee, in its report on October 22, rejected three crucial demands of farmers: 10% residential land in exchange for land acquired since 1997, a 64.7% increase in compensation for farmers whose land was acquired from 1997 to 2002, and permission to use residential plots for commercial purposes. However, the committee accepted the demand that each individual in a farmer’s family be allowed to use at least 1,000 square metres of their original abadi (residential) land.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party criticised the incident. Its district president Gajendra Mavi, said, “Anarchists like them (SP) have no regard for the law-and-order of the state. Anyone can protest in the state, but that does not mean they can do so without permission.”