Sipu Jha
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday reacted sharply to the arrest of Raju Karpada, the party’s Gujarat Farmer Cell head, who was taken into custody by Gujarat Police in the early hours of the morning. The arrest followed Karpada’s protest at the Botad Marketing Yard over farmers’ grievances regarding alleged unfair deductions in cotton sales.Reacting to Karpada’s arrest, Kejriwal said, “In the marketing yards of Gujarat, blatant injustice is being done to farmers. They are not getting fair prices for their hard-earned crops; instead, BJP leaders have taken control of the yards and are harassing the farmers.” He added that the AAP would continue to advocate for farmers’ rights both on the streets and in the assembly.In a separate tweet, Kejriwal stated that the police action was aimed at silencing voices in support of farmers. He wrote, “Under BJP rule, if anyone raises the voice of farmers, they are sent to jail. At 3 am, Aam Aadmi Party’s farmer leader Raju Karpada was arrested by police. His only ‘crime’ was fighting for farmers’ rights and demanding fair prices for cotton. In Gujarat, anyone who stands with farmers has their voice crushed… But truth cannot be imprisoned. The farmers’ struggle will not stop now.”Karpada had recently alleged a practice called “Kalda,” where farmers transporting their cotton to ginning factories 10–15 km away were reportedly paid Rs 100–200 less per 20 kg than the agreed price, with middlemen also taking a cut. According to Karpada, the deduction has been a long-standing issue, which he had exposed earlier, leading to the temporary closure of the yard two years ago.As per AAP, farmers alleged that the practice resumed over the past ten days, prompting Karpada to organise a protest with thousands of farmers on October 10.During the protest, the chairman of the marketing yard reportedly assured the crowd that the “Kalda” deduction would stop and promised inquiries into any complaints against traders, but declined to provide a written guarantee. This led to Karpada continuing the sit-in with farmers, following which he was arrested around 3 am.Karpada had posted on social media prior to the protest, urging farmers to join him at the Botad yard, and that the protest aimed to stop both the “Kalda” deductions and the practice of forcing farmers to bear transport costs for their cotton.The protest and subsequent detention have drawn sharp reactions from AAP leaders.
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