MEERUT: In a bid to bridge the Muslim-Jat divide in western UP, which has given political dividends to the BJP since the Muzaffarnagar riots, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief
Ajit Singh on Thursday shared the stage in the communally-sensitive district with his coalition partners, including Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief
Sharad Pawar, JD (U) leaders Sharad Yadav and KC Tyagi and
Trinamool Congress MP Nayeemul Haque.
All the speakers lashed out at the
Narendra Modi government over demonetisation and farmers’ issues.
Pawar, who spoke briefly, said, “Chaudhary Charan Singh was the true messiah of farmers across the country. The crowd gathered here gives me confidence in the fact that people still have faith in the principles he espoused. Under Modi government, farmers are facing hardships. The situation is bad in UP, Maharashtra and the rest of the country.”
“The situation of farmers in the country was already bad under Modi government and demonetisation has worsened it. The Prime Minister is an expert orator and he thinks he can fill empty stomachs with his speeches alone. I appeal to all of you to teach BJP a lesson in the upcoming assembly elections,” Singh said.
Jayant Chaudhary said, “This is not a government of the farmers. It is a government that works only for a handful of industrialists. Demonetisation is also a move to help some corporates while ordinary people suffer. Fifty days have not even passed and already we have seen counterfeit notes doing the rounds. This new policy is a complete failure.”