By George Joseph, IANS,
New Delhi: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s pre-dawn journey to Bhatta Parsaul village – the epicentre of the five-day-old farmers’ agitation in Uttar Pradesh – is the latest in his series of surprise visits to challenge political rivals or to register a point on burning public issues.
“He surprises both foes and friends by sudden, unscheduled visits to the hot spots. Many party leaders were not aware of today’s Rahul’s entry on a two-wheeler into the village that was barred for political leaders and outsiders by the Mayawati government,” a Congress leader told IANS.
For the general public and ordinary Congress workers, Gandhi’s visit was a “daredevil act” that would come as a boost to the farmers movement for higher compensation for the land taken for the construction of 156 km long Yamuna Expressway that is to link New Delhi with Agra.
Tempers are running high. Police and agitating farmers in Greater Noida in Gautam Budh Nagar district fought a pitched battle Saturday in which four people, including two policemen, were killed.
“It (Gandhi’s act) was a daring act against the high-handed (Bahujan Samaj Party) Mayawati government, which is treating farmers as criminals. Rahul’s visit has changed the profile of the farmer’s strike. It will now become a mass movement,” said Suresh Tyagi, a Congress activist from neighbouring Ghaziabad district.
In a similar unexpected act, on Aug 26 last year, Gandhi visited the bauxite-rich Niyamgiri hills of Orissa to boost the morale of the tribals, who oppose their displacement by mineral-based industries in different parts of the state.
Gandhi, who addressed a rally organised by the state unit of the Youth Congress to celebrate the day as Tribal Rights Day, said that “the voice of the poor was rarely being heard in the country, while the voice of the rich was heard at various levels”.
Much to the annoyance of Orissa’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) that is backing mining projects in the state’s tribal areas, Gandhi promised the tribals that he would be their “voice in New Delhi”. “The meaning of development should be that all people should march forward and the voice of all should be heard,” he said.
Before that, on Feb 5, Gandhi made an unscheduled journey in a local train in Mumbai to challenge the Shiv Sena, which had launched a series of attacks on migrants from Bihar and other states in Mumbai.
“It was a bold and timely act to declare that Mumbai belongs to all – people from all states and sections,” Guru Nair, vice president of the cultural cell of the Maharashtra Congress, told IANS.
Gandhi’s Mumbai visit, considered as a major challenge in his career, was held amidst tight security and a few protests by Sena activists, who had called it “Mussolini’s visit”.
Nair said Gandhi’s journey took the wind out of the Shiv Sena.
The latest visit to Mayawati’s turf in western Uttar Pradesh has also rattled the opposition.
Some political analysts and rival politicians feel that Gandhi is trying to fish in the troubled waters of the state with an eye on the assembly polls next year.
In her criticism, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati said that “Rahul was no grassroots leader to represent the farmers”.
Prakash Javadekar, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson, alleged that “Rahul’s visit was a stage managed show in connivance with Mayawati”.
Though the police clamped down on the agitators and arrested several top political leaders including former BJP chief minister Rajnath Singh, who tried to visit the area, Gandhi managed to enter village.
The Congress is full of praise for its leader. On Wednesday, at Bhatta Parsaul, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh was there to praise Gandhi and explain the speciality of his visits.
“Rahul Gandhi is different from other leaders. He believes in reaching out to the affected people, wherever they are. At any cost,” Singh said.