As farmers lay siege at Delhi doorsteps, Priyanka asks BJP why are they not being let in

PTI, Sep 21, 2019, 4:56 PM IST

New Delhi: Amid farmers blocking various entry points to Delhi from Uttar Pradesh side since early hours, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday asked the BJP why are they preventing peasants from coming to Delhi to raise their demands.

“What is the reason that farmers are being prevented from coming to Delhi and raising their demands? The BJP government, in its campaigns, talks about welfare of farmers. But when farmers of Uttar Pradesh say they want sugarcane arrears, loan waiver and cut in electricity prices, why are they not allowed to speak?” she said in a tweet.

Priyanka Gandhi was referring to farmers on their way from Uttar Pradesh to Kisan Ghat in Delhi on Saturday demanding pending sugarcane dues, loan waivers and cheap electricity, among others.

They, however, have been stopped at various entry points of Delhi at its borders with UP, leading the agitating farmers to lay siege at those points, throwing the traffic on eastern borders of the national capital out of gear.

The farmers, protesting under the banner of Bharatiya Kisan Sangathan (BKS), had started their march from Saharanpur on September 11.

On their way to Kisan Ghat, the memorial of former prime minister and farmers’ leader Chaudhary Charan Singh, in the national capital, they have been stopped at various entry points to Delhi, including UP Gate near Indirapuram and Maharajpur police post near Anand Vihar.

The farmers have also demanded implementation of the Swaminathan Committee’s recommendations.