Thaindian News

New Delhi, May 10 (IANS) Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh, whose party has considerable influence in western Uttar Pradesh where a farmers’ agitation is currently on, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here Tuesday and sought enhanced compensation for farmers whose land was acquired by the government.

“I apprised the concerns of farmers to the prime minister. We are concerned about the plight of the farmers and want the repression to end. An honourable solution should be found,” Ajit Singh, whose party has four Lok Sabha MPs, told reporters after the meeting.

The RLD leader said he urged the prime minister for speedy passage of the Land Acquisition Bill.

“We want higher compensation for the Noida farmers and farmers elsewhere,” he added.

Vehemently attacking Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati for “suppressing the farmers agitation” and the four deaths in clashes, Ajit Singh said that a thorough probe should be held into the incidents.

“We also demand detailed facts about the purpose of land acquisition and the end use.”

The RLD chief said the farmers should have the right to decide whether to sell their land or not. “That should be a basic right,” he said.

Ajit Singh’s RLD has considerable influence in Greater Noida and other areas of the farmers’ stir. His meeting with the prime minister is viewed as significant as the agitation has acquired considerable political dimensions.

While Mayawati and her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have criticised the agitation as “based on mis-information and politically motivated”, opposition parties - the BJP, Samjawadi Party (SP) and the Congress - have extended support to the affected farmers.

Former chief minister Rajnath Singh and several other BJP leaders were arrested Monday in Greater Noida while proceeding to the agitation spot.

SP leader and former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has also declared his party’s support to the agitating farmers. Several SP leaders have courted arrest in the past four days.

Ajit Singh’s RLD, it is speculated, has been moving closer to the Congress recently, though the party had contested the Lok Sabha polls in alliance with the BJP.

Political circles say informal talks are on between the Congress and the RLD about jointly contesting the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls which are due next year.

Four people were killed on Saturday in clashes between the farmers and police in the agitation for higher compensation for land acquired for building the Yamuna Expressway between Noida and Agra.