Over 2,000 Samajwadi Party activists Monday courted arrest in several parts of Uttar Pradesh and clashed with the police while protesting against the sugarcane purchase policy of the central and state governments.
Samajwadi Party functionaries, including MLAs and MPs, took to the streets in several districts of Uttar Pradesh, where they blockaded roads, targeted vehicles and also pelted stones at the police.
To disperse the protesters, police resorted to force at several places. However, no one was seriously injured, officials said.
"Around 1,000 of our party activists courted arrest in Barabanki district," SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told reporters here. Barabanki is 35 km from Lucknow.
In other places like Unnao, Faizabad, Kanpur and several other districts hundreds of Samajwadi Party workers, including parliamentarians and legislators, courted arrest, he said. "We will continue with the agitation till the demands of the state's cane growers are met," he added.
The central government has announced a price of Rs.129.85 per quintal for sugarcane during the 2009-10 crushing season under the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) system, while the State Advisory Price (SAP) has been set between Rs.165 and Rs.170 per quintal.
In case a state government fixes SAP higher than the FRP, it will have to pay the difference.
Farmers want Rs.280 per quintal for their produce.