Yogendra Yadav arrested in Tiruvannamalai, India, en route to a meeting with farmers  

KRISHNAGIRI, TAMIL NADU, INDIA, SEPTEMBER 08, 2018

 

“Finally, I have been arrested. My crime: wanting to meet farmers in their home. Where is rule of law?” the Swaraj India Party chief tweeted.

 

Yogendra Yadav, president of Swaraj India Party was arrested en route to a private meeting with farmers in Tiruvannamalai on Saturday.

 

“Finally, I have been arrested. My crime: wanting to meet farmers in their home. Where is rule of law?” he tweeted.

 

“With me two local farmer leaders ChandraKumar and Arul Arumugam have also been arrested,” he added in another tweet.

 

In an earlier tweet Mr. Yadav said, “I have refused to obey the illegal police order restricting me from meeting farmers at their home. I am proceeding to village Nammianthel. Let's see if TN police arrests me.”

 

“I called up the District Magistrate Kandasamy and said that no final order was issued as of now, and he agreed no order was issued.’ I asked, “How do they then forcibly enter lands and he said no such thing happening and that they were talking only to farmers who cooperated.”

 

Prof. Yadav said “I told him I was sitting with a farmer, whose house was forcibly entered into by the police,” and he denied of any police brutality and claimed that outsiders were trying to incite law and order issue.

 

According to Prof. Yadav, he had told him that he was an outsider with affected farmers, and that under the Constitution, he had the right to hold meetings with the farmers on their own property. “The Collector said, you have your freedom and police can’t stop you.”

However, within 5 minutes, “Our vehicle was surrounded,” he said. The activists were taken into the van that was to take them to the police station. “However, soon they realised who we were, and the vehicle was diverted to a wedding hall.”

 

According to Prof. Yadav, the Superintendent of Police arrived and said they had information that ‘over 100 farmers were meeting with him.’ “If I were to meet with 100 farmers in their own property, how is it illegal,” he asked.

 

"I have come to meet the farmers and I will not leave without meeting them,” he said. Along with Prof. Yadav, farmers leaders were detained. The SP has promised The Hindu that he would respond to queries on the issue shortly.