SP, Cong protest in support of farmers in UP

Lucknow : Farmers are mostly not very visible in protests during the ‘Bharat Bandh’ in Uttar Pradesh but it is the Samajwadi Party and the Congress that are taking to the streets to protest against the farm laws.Samajwadi Party (SP) workers began protests early in the day, stopping the Bundelkhand Express in Prayagraj, blocking traffic in Kanpur, Basti, and several other districts.SP leader Manoj Singh Kaka was put under house arrest in Chandauli.Congress leader Ajay Shukla was also put under house arrest in Bareilly.A heavy deployment of police force was seen outside the residence of SP president Akhilesh Yadav and the Samajwadi Party office — both located on the Vikramaditya Marg — on Tuesday.Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has clearly warned that anyone trying to force closure of shops would be sternly dealt with.Samajwadi leader Anurag Bhadauria said the protests were a part of democracy and the government could not crush protestors.”The government did not allow our president Akhilesh Yadav to lead a Kisan Yatra which was an infringement of his democratic rights. The Samajwadis will continue to protest in whatever way they can,” he added.Congress spokesman Surendra Rajput said the Congress was with farmers and was supporting their call for Bharat Bandh.”We have never resorted to violence and our protests are peaceful,” he said.Meanwhile, Satish Lalwani, who owns a premier general store in Lucknow, said, “The farmers have our support and sympathies, but we cannot close our shops because, as it is business is down and we cannot afford more losses.”Rakesh Rai, who owns a garment store in Gol Ghar in Gorakhpur, said, “This is the wedding season and closing shops for a day will take away our business. We are not responding to the Bandh call and the local administration has promised to protect us against protestors.”