Maya's charm fades in native village, unrest brews

TROUBLE AT HOME: The farmers are more hurt because Behenji is herself building a palatial house in the same village.

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Badalpur (UP): Farmers agitating against land acquisition may be a common sight in many states. But what makes this one special is that it is happening in Badalpur, the native village of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati. The Greater Noida Development Authority has taken over 230 Hectares here and many feel they are getting a raw deal.

“Our land is very precious to us. The commercial price of the land near GT road is Rs20,000 per yard but the government is paying us little over Rs700 per yard,” says a farmer Vir Singh.

The farmers are more hurt because Behenji is herself building a palatial house in the same village.

“She is constructing an 100 acre farm house here and all this land will be a part of her garden,” says villagers.

Hospitals, schools and colleges, almost all institutions in Badalpur bear her name, but Mayawati's government's decision to acquire over 200 hectares of prime agriculture land has disillusioned many of her supporters in the native village. And it has also given her opponents a rare opportunity to hit her where it hurts the most.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is preparing to fight on behalf of the farmers of Badalpur. Dalit leaders from parties like the Lok Jan Shakti Party (LJP) have already launched agitations

“When she cannot support her own farmers, when she cannot do justice with her own people, what will she do to others? She has deliberately taken over her that land,” says MP LJP Ramchandra Paswan.

After the violence in Greater Noida, Mayawati knows the situation could snowball and now her administration is working overtime to persuade the farmers to give up their demands.