Farmers’ Protest? Potatoes Hurled at Various Places in Lucknow

Potatoes were hurled from a truck at various prominent places in Lucknow on Saturday in what is being seen as a protest by farmers against low purchase price of the produce. This, even as the state government dismissed the incident as the work of "miscreants".

According to Lucknow District Magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma:

There was a truck with sacks of potatoes. Someone started throwing potatoes from the truck in various parts of the city early (Saturday) morning. Now, whether this has been done by the farmers or by someone else is yet to be ascertained. So far, no farmers’ group has claimed any responsibility for this act.

The potatoes, Sharma added, were thrown on “Vidhan Sabha Marg, near VVIP guest house and near the 1090 Crossing”.

The roads were then cleaned by the Lucknow Municipal Corporation. Soil was also placed on top of the smashed potatoes so that motorcyclists and other two-wheeler riders do not skid off the road. The fire brigade was also roped in to wash some roads adjoining the Vidhan Bhawan building, so that they do not become slippery. This seems to be the work of anti-social elements. We are probing all possible angles.

Kaushal Raj Sharma

‘Rotten Potatoes to Malign Image’

When contacted, a state government spokesman said, "This was not done by farmers, but by miscreants."

Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Kisan Manch has slammed the state government over the incident.

The group's president Shekhar Dixit said:

There is a difference in the words and actions of the government. I am not pointing fingers at the Narendra Modi government or the Yogi Adityanath government. But this was the situation even during the regime of the SP and the BSP. Today, potato farmers have thrown potatoes on the streets of Lucknow, tomorrow it may be the sugarcane farmers, or the wheat and paddy farmers, if the situation does not improve.

Speaking to reporters, Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi said:

This was a pre-planned act; the potatoes which were thrown on the streets of Lucknow were partly or completely rotten, and had clearly been rejected in the mandi (market). It is a deliberate attempt to malign the image of the Yogi Adityanath government.