V P Singh targets Mukesh Ambani's project

Lucknow, July 17: Vowing to continue the ''fight'' in favour of displaced farmers over land allotment to Anil Ambani's Dadri power project in Ghaziabad district, Jan Morcha leader Vishwanath Pratap Singh today turned the heat on the other Ambani brother -- Mukesh -- over 24,000 acre land allotment for his project in Haryana.

''Jan Morcha activists, like they did at Dadri, would lodge protest in Haryana against land allotment to Mukesh Ambani on concessional rates violating the farmers' interests,'' Mr Singh told reporters here. Jan Morcha president Raj Babbar and Indian Justice Party chief Udit Raj were also present during the press conference.

Condemning the ''brutal police action on innocent farmers'' at Burjkhera in Dadri on July 8, the former prime minister said the matter had already been moved before the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) by social activist Medha Patkar and Justice Sacchar.

Jan Morcha activists would again go there and organise a 'Dadri March' on August 17 to protest the arbitrary allotment of land to Anil Ambani violating farmers' rights.

Announcing to take up Dadri issue and Haryana project simultaneously, Mr Singh said similar issues prevailing anywhere in the country would be taken up by Jan Morcha activists.

''It is highly undemocratic that the state government has banned entry of the Morcha leaders, including muself, in the Hapur tahsil for a month,'' he pointed out.

The former PM regreted that after 16 years of implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations, backward Muslims had not received any benefit.

Mr Singh, who sent a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently, has demanded separate quotas within the ambit of Mandal be allocated to those Mulsims, who came under Mandal and also separate quota to most backward classes. ''These quotas should be based on their respective population strength.'' He also demanded Rajbhar and Kol communities of UP, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and few other states find place in the ST list.

UNI