Farmer protests spread to new areas of MP, Mandsaur remains calm

MANDSAUR: Farmer protests on Thursday spilled over to new areas of Madhya Pradesh even as the epicentre of the agitation, Mandsaur, remained relatively peaceful. While curfew continued in Mandsaur, except for a two-hour relaxation, incidents of arson were reported from Shajapur and Dhar districts in western part of the state on the eighth day of the agitation for loan waiver and better crop price. While a truck and two motorbikes were torched by protesters on the Mumbai-Agra highway (NH-3) in Shajapur district, stones were hurled at police personnel in Shajapur town, which witnessed the farmers' unrest for the first time. Police fired teargas and lathicharged a stone-pelting mob near the local market in Shajapur. Following the incident, prohibitory orders were imposed in Shajapur town under Section 144 of the CrPC. The agitation also spread to Chhindwara district in Mahakoshal region of the state. In Mandsaur district where five farmers were killed in police firing on Tuesday, Rapid Action Force (RAF), the anti- riot paramilitary force rushed by the Centre, was deployed this morning. The Centre had rushed 1,100 personnel of the RAF to the violence-hit state yesterday. While two companies of the RAF, each comprising 100 personnel, were deployed in Pipliamandi in Mandsaur, where the five farmers were killed, another two were posted in Garoth. Two RAF companies were deployed along the highway. Contingents of the CRPF have also been deployed. At least 56 people have been arrested and over 100 detained in connection with violence during the farmers agitation here, police said. A two-hour relaxation in curfew from 4 pm in four police station areas of Mandsaur city and Pipliamandi in the district passed off peacefully, Collector O P Srivastava said, adding it can be eased further tomorrow. The authorities also prevented Rahul Gandhi and a number of other Congress leaders from entering Mandsaur. He slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the problems being faced by the farmers, evoking a sharp response from the BJP which termed his visit to Mandsaur as a "photo opportunity". Amid the increasing political slugfest, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, which is facing a major crisis, shunted out the collector and superintendent of police of Mandsaur district, two days after five farmers were killed in police firing during a violent protest. A police inspector, who had allegedly fired at the protestors on Tuesday, was also removed from field duty and sent to police lines. The state's Home Minister Bhupendra Singh told PTI that the five farmers had been killed in police firing, a remark that assumes significance as the authorities had earlier claimed the police did not fire during the protests. He said Pipliamandi Town Inspector Anil Singh Thakur, who had allegedly fired at the farmers causing casualties, had been removed from field duty and sent to the Mandsaur police lines. To bring back normalcy, the Chief Minister made a fresh attempt to reach out to the agitating farmers, saying the state government was open for a dialogue to iron out the differences and once again appealed them to maintain peace. Appealing to the farmers to maintain calm, he said, "Only talks can end the differences." He said, "The state government is of farmers and public. I will continue to work for them." His fresh attempt to reach out to the farmers came on a day Rahul Gandhi, accompanied by few senior leaders of the state and JD(U)'s Sharad Yadav, tried to make their way to Mandsaur through the Rajasthan border. There was high drama as the police tried to stop what had turned into a rally of sorts with Gandhi leading from the front. When police tried to push him back, he ran into a field nearby from where he was detained. Gandhi was released after over four hours of detention in the guest house of a cement company. "Rahul Gandhi, along with around 250 Congress leaders, were under preventive arrest under under Section 151 of CrPC. We had informed them that there is curfew in four police station areas and they should not go there. Despite this, they tried to move towards the area," SP (Neemuch) Manoj Kumar Singh said. Rahul had flown to the Rajasthan city of Udaipur from Delhi on a chartered plane and tried entering Madhya Pradesh from Rajasthan's Chittorgarh district. With him were Congress colleagues Digvijaya Singh, Kamal Nath, Sachin Pilot and Janata Dal United leader Sharad Yadav. As Madhya Pradesh police waited at the Nayagaon barrier on the border to stop him, Rahul had tricked them by hopping onto the pillion of a motorbike and then walking about 2km to enter Madhya Pradesh from another point, Jeeran. With him was Pilot. Rahul's motorbike had three riders - only two are allowed - and none wore helmets. "We will look into whether any traffic violation was committed," Chittorgarh deputy superintendent of police Gopi Chand said. This isn't the first time Rahul has dodged the police to meet protesting farmers. Six years ago, he had been barred from Bhatta-Parsaul, a land protest hotspot near Noida in Uttar Pradesh, but entered the village riding pillion on the motorcycle of a Congress worker, Thakur Dhirendra Singh. Shortly before his detention today, Rahul was seen furiously pushing a policeman as he tried to stop him. "How can you stop me? Which law says it is illegal to stand in solidarity with farmers who were killed simply for what is their right?" he said. He later told reporters: "If your ideology is not that of the RSS, you are not allowed to enter Madhya Pradesh. (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji has waived the loans of big corporate houses but he has only bullets for the farmers." Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan later tweeted a video message: "We have taken many steps for the benefit of farmers. Some anti-social elements want to disrupt peace in the state." BJP spokesperson G.V.L. Narasimha Rao accused Rahul of "political tourism" and "playing politics in the name of farmers". Congress insiders say that Rahul's commitment to the farmers' cause is absolute but the party's lack of a strong line of communication with the farming community has hindered his efforts. He also slammed the BJP for saying that he had gone for a 'photo-op' there, arguing, "I only wanted meet the farmers. What was the need for controversy?" He added that government can waive loans of Rs 1.10 lakh crore of 50 rich people in the country, then why the loans of those farmers who feed the nation cannot be waived. Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh government today conveyed to the Centre that five farmers were killed in Mandsaur in police firing, ending the confusion on who had fired at the protesters. In a report submitted to the home ministry, the state government said the protesting farmers, demanding loan waiver, had allegedly set ablaze 25 trucks and two police vans along the Mhow-Neemuch highway on Tuesday.