“BJP members are not allowed inside”, says a board outside Greater Noida village

The village in Greater Noida which was adopted by Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma does not want him or any of his BJP colleagues to come there. They have put up a board at the entrance, which says “BJP members are not allowed inside”. The board was put up on Sunday, October 28, after officials from the local administration and employees of a realty group allegedly destroyed a farmer’s crop.

According to a report in Indian Express, a farmer and resident of Kachera village in Badalpur, Tejinder Nagar (35) said, “Five days ago, we all woke up to around 25-30 excavators destroying crops we had sown six months ago. A force of around 100 policemen had made a perimeter around the tractors so that no villager could disrupt the work. When we asked questions, we were greeted with lathis.”

Greater Noida’s Circle Officer Nishank Sharma said around 84 residents of the village, including the pradhan, were arrested following law and order problems. “We have deployed extra police force in the area,” Nishank said.

There has been a long-standing dispute between the realty group and the farmers. According to sources, the realty group had purchased the land in 2005-2006, but hadn’t carried out any development activities and the farmers continued farming. On Sunday, October 28, officials of the company reclaimed the land and damaged the crops, alleged villagers. They also alleged that no prior notice was issued.

Villagers also said that they tried to contact MP Sharma to resolve the issue, but his phone has been switched off. However, Mahesh Sharma dismissed the anti-BJP signboard as a political stint by the opposition parties.

“I know my village very well; this is the work of a single individual who is politically motivated. A politician from SP was detained… I have been out of the state for a couple of days. I am with the farmers and will resolve all their issues in due time.”

The local administration insisted the land was sold to the group through a legal process, and there was no dispute. “Many villagers willingly sold their land to make way for the housing project, and received compensation. The land belongs to the authorities. We have been in conversation with the village administration for the past three months and they were given intimation. We are looking to resolve the situation through peaceful means,” said Anjani Kumar Singh, sub-divisional magistrate.

On Monday afternoon, Samajwadi Party leader Atul Pradhan was detained at Pari Chowk before his visit to Kachera, due to Section 144 being imposed in the district for the past few weeks.