Aam Aadmi Party members denied entry into curfew-hit Mandsaur
The party members staged a dharna in Ratlam and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the ongoing conflict.
A day after Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and other party leaders were arrested in Neemuch while trying to enter Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur, members of the Aam Aadmi Party too were stopped by the police from entering the centre of farmers’ protests, PTI reported on Friday.
The AAP leaders were not allowed to enter Mandsaur and sent back from Ratlam, said Jaora city Superintendent of Police Kumar Shukhla.
After being denied entry into the curfew hit area on safety grounds, the delegation comprising Sanjay Singh, Bhagwant Mann, Somnath Bharti, Ashutosh and the party’s Madhya Pradesh unit convener Alok Aggarwal staged a dharna in the Dhodhar area of Ratlam district. It was reported that the AAP leaders also spoke to some of the protesting farmers.
“We were going to meet the families of the deceased farmers and did not have any intention to disrupt the law and order in Mandsaur, but even then we were stopped,” Sanjay Singh said.
Sanjay Singh demanded Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s resignation and also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the matter. “He [Modi] tweets immediately on issues from all over the world but has not uttered a single word in solidarity with the farmers in Mandsaur,” Singh said.
“The farmers in the country are facing tough times. Those from Tamil Nadu had to protest in Delhi while the ones in Mandsaur had to face the bullets. It’s high time that the Centre waives loans of farmers across the country,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Mandsaur SP Manoj Kumar Singh had said entry of outsiders will be restricted. He had said the AAP leaders would face arrest if they tried to enter the district.
On Thursday, Gandhi and several other leaders were arrested in Neemuch while trying to enter the restive region of Mandsaur. Gandhi had attempted to enter Mandsaur on a two-wheeler before trying to break through a police barricade on foot.
He was later released along with his 250 supporters and was allowed by the administration to meet the agitating farmers at the Madhya Pradesh-Rajasthan border.