Activist Medha Patkar, who quit Aam Aadmi Party a few months ago over policies of Arvind Kejriwal, has come out in support of former AAP colleague Yogendra Yadav, who has been arrested by the central government for holding a protest without permission.
“Narmada Bachao Andolan condemns the arbitrary arrest of Yogendra Yadav and other Saathis of Swaraj Abhiyaan in the middle of the night at Delhi,” said a statement from Patkar’s National Alliance of People’s Movements.
“The 10-day Yatra by Shri.Yadav and the Abhiyaan has met and united thousands of framers across different states raising the plight of the entire agriculture sector and the regressive policies of the NDA Govt. which is purely a threat to farmers, agricultural laborers, fisher people and other rural communities,” the statement said.
“The Yatris were in a peaceful march towards Race Course road to install a memorial in respect of the farmers, who were compelled to give up their lives as a result of the anti-farmer policies of the government and there was no reason for the arrest,” she added.
The arrest seems to be bringing together old colleagues. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had kicked out Yogendra Yadav accusing him of plotting to seize control of the party, too has expressed his support for Yadav.
“The arrest betrays the ‘heat’ and ‘threat ‘ being faced by the Modi govt. from farmers-workers agitations across the country which has already back tracked on its anti farmer changes to the land acquisition Act, 2015,” Patkar said.
Thousands of ousters from the Narmada valley challenging the unlawful construction of the Sardar Sarovar demand inhuman displacement of 2.5 lakh people have kick-started a Padayatra from 6th August and shall embark on an intense, indefinite Satyagraha at Rajghat (Badwani) from 12th August, the organisation said.
“Passing through the highly fertile riverbank villages of Piplud, Kundiya, Kasarwad today hundreds of Yatris demanded immediate release of Yogendra Yadav and Swaraj Abhiyaan Sathis and calls upon Government of India to seriously consider all the demands and suggestions of the Abhiyaan, in the interest of the farming-working community of the nation.”