New Delhi Oct 13 (UNI) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Gujarat of unleashing “unprecedented brutality” on farmers, announcing that its national convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, will hold a farmers’ Mahapanchayat in the state on October 31 coinciding with Sardar Patel Jayanti.
The announcement was made by AAP leader Gopal Rai during a press conference on Monday, following a series of incidents in the Botad area of Gujarat over the weekend.
According to the AAP’s account, the conflict began when farmers gathered at the Botad marketing yard to protest against an alleged exploitative system called ‘Karda Pratha’, which they claim forces them to sell a portion of their crop at a lower price. The police reportedly denied them permission to hold their panchayat at the market.
The farmers then moved their gathering to Hadad village. AAP claims that police surrounded the village and brutally lathi-charged the assembly, used tear gas, and made mass arrests. Gopal Rai alleged that over 250 people were detained, with police forcibly entering homes and misbehaving with women.
In protest, the AAP and farmer groups observed a ‘Black Day’ across Gujarat today.
The party also claimed that the BJP government had pre-emptively arrested several AAP leaders, including its Gujarat president Isudan Gadhvi and farmer leader Rajubhai Karpada, in an attempt to “crush the farmers’ voice.”
Gopal Rai warned that if the state government fails to address the farmers’ demands for dignity, justice, and fair crop prices, the AAP will launch a statewide movement.
