Ahead of Modi visit, BKS holds protest in MP on farm issues, opposes land acquisition in Ujjain

The RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) on Monday took out rallies, staged demonstrations, handed over memoranda across Madhya Pradesh to highlight problems of cultivators and seek their mitigation as it warned against taking farmlands for the Simhastha 2028.

Thousands of farmers, including women, took part in the rallies and demonstrations which were organised two days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the BJP-ruled state, where he is scheduled to take part in multiple programmes.

The BKS warned the state government against taking farmers' land holdings permanently for building infrastructure for the Simhastha 2028, a mega Hindu religious event held every 12 years in the temple town of Ujjain.

The Kumbh Mela held in Ujjain is called the Simhastha and it attracts millions of devotees from all parts of India and also abroad.

''We submitted memoranda to officials addressed to the PM and Chief Minister (Mohan Yadav) demanding, among other things, that acquisition of farmers' land in Ujjain (for building permanent structures) be stopped,'' MP BKS president Kamal Singh Anjana told PTI over the phone when contacted.

The BKS protest came at a time when Yadav, who hails from Ujjain, has drawn up grand plans to make the Simhastha 2028 the biggest ever event in the temple town under his leadership.

''Our protest got an overwhelming response across Madhya Pradesh. A huge number of women in Agar Malwa district took part in the protest. We submitted memoranda in 52 districts out of 56 in the state,'' Anjana informed.

He said land of around 1,800 farmers is being taken permanently for building a city spread across 12,000 bighas (1 bigha is 0.111 hectares) in Ujjain.

''Let the festival (Simhastha) be celebrated in a traditional way and culture as it has been done for decades,'' Anjana maintained.

''People come to the Simhastha due to faith and the event is held in makeshift tents with cow dung floorings. If you want to do it in such a way (as per new plan), take hotels on rent and make seers stay there. Don't spoil our culture. Who are you to organise the Simhastha? Was the Simhastha organised by the government in the past. Then, why do you want to organise it now?'' he remarked.

Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-affiliated outfit, in a press statement, said farmers have been raising issues of erratic power supply, shortage of fertilisers, sale of spurious pesticides and seeds, and revenue-related problems at the tehsil-level for several days, but the administration has failed to act so far.

The organisation said crop insurance payments had not been made in many districts, while in those where compensation was disbursed, several irregularities were found.

The BKS also opposed the ''land pooling act'' in Ujjain through the memorandums, warning the government not to take away farmers' land.

BKS Madhya Bharat Prant spokesman Rahul Dhoot said the outfit's general secretary, Mohini Mohan Mishra, will be in Ujjain on Tuesday where a tractor rally has been organised to protest against the acquisition of farmers' land.

''Why do they want to take farmers' land permanently? What is your plan behind it?'' he asked.

In the past, farmers' land was taken on rent by the government for the Simhastha (for making temporary arrangements for devotees and seers) and this practice should continue in 2028 and beyond, Dhoot argued.

On August 17, a large number of irate farmers along with women staged a protest and road blockade at Ujjain alleging the government is permanently acquiring their land to build a concrete 'Kumbh City' on about 2,400 hectares for the Simhastha.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yadav on Monday said preparations for the Simhastha 2028 were progressing well with the cooperation of all stakeholders, and vowed to protect farmers' interest in the process.

Maintaining the pace of Madhya Pradesh's development was the government's top priority, he asserted and added building permanent infrastructure for the mega event in the town, which houses Mahakaleshwar Temple, was being planned with consensus and dialogue with all those concerned.

Referring to the Maha Kumbh Mela held in Prayagraj in January-February this year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had earlier stressed on building permanent structures for crowd management and security, Yadav told reporters at Kushabhau Thakre auditorium in Bhopal.

The Chief Minister noted Ujjain's economy had grown significantly after the development of Mahakal Lok corridor and the state expected about 30 crore devotees to attend the 2028 fair, billed as the largest Simhastha in human history.

He said arrangements would focus on ensuring facilities for saints and pilgrims, with permanent structures replacing temporary ones built during the Simhastha 2016, when infrastructure worth Rs 650 crore was erected on 3,000 hectares.

Yadav assured farmers' interests would be safeguarded in the process.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)