Maya faces flak for ignoring farmers

Blaming Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati for the violence over land acquisition in Noida and adjoining areas, Samajwadi Party on Monday alleged that the Bahujan Samaj Party government had ignored farmers' interests while taking over their land.

"The Chief Minister is entirely responsible for it (violence)... The process of acquisition was done in a haste and farmers were not taken in confidence leading to resentment causing clash between them and police," SP Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said at a press conference in Lucknow.

"People and farmers will soon remove the government," he claimed.

Yadav said a delegation of the party including Shivpal Singh Yadav and some party MPs was sent to an affected village to know about the ground reality but the leaders,  were not allowed to reach there.

"Had the government permitted them to reach the affected village they would have ensured peace by talking to the farmers and knowing their grievances," he said.

Senior party leader Azam Khan questioned the need for such large scale land acquisition in the area and accused the state government of acting like a business entity.

"The government is mandated to protect the interest of the people, but in this case it is functioning like a business entity," he said, adding that large areas have been taken over by the government in Noida and adjoining areas and sold to industrialists.

At the press conference, Yadav also announced that BSP MLA from Masauli in Barabanki district Farid Mahfuz Kidwai has joined his party.

"This is our phase of struggle and you have joined at an appropriate time," Yadav told Kidwai.