LUCKNOW: Even as the Uttar Pradesh Government creates avenues for private sector investment in housing infrastructure, the Rashtriya Lok Dal has decided to oppose the move for handing over farmers' land to private builders.

The Rashtriya Lok Dal, which is a coalition partner of the Samajwadi Party, will launch a Statewide agitation against the move in a bid to force Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav to withdraw the decision. Party general secretary Anil Dubey said that in the first phase of the agitation RLD workers would stage dharna and demonstrations at all the district headquarters on August 7.

The RLD's decision to come out openly against the Mulayam Singh Yadav Government comes close in the wake of the Jan Morcha convenor and former Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh's threat to launch an agitation against the Government's proposal to build hi-tech cities. Mr. Singh has also made the acquisition of farmers' land the cornerstone of Jan Morcha's proposed agitation.

Significantly, both Mr. Ajit Singh and Mr. V. P. Singh had earlier started off together on farmers' issues and also addressed joint meetings at Barabanki and Fatehpur in March and April.

However, both soon parted ways following theLok Dal's allegation that the former Prime Minister was hobnobbing with the Congress. Dismissing the possibility of both the RLD president and Jan Morcha convenor coming together again, RLD sources said that under no condition would Chaudhary Ajit Singh become a junior partner to the former Prime Minister.

However, RLD's opposition to farmers' land being acquired by Government agencies at below the market price mirrored one aspect of the alleged souring of relations between Mr. Yadav and Mr. Singh.

Both also did not see eye to eye on the latter's agenda of creating a separate state called "Harit Pradesh" by incorporating 22 districts of western U.P.. On Saturday, the U.P. Chief Minister rubbished the demand for further bifurcation of the State at a public meeting in Bareilly.

Within 24 hours, the Chairperson of the U.P. Irrigation and Flood Control Commission, Anuradha Chaudhary, who is the RLD Member of Paliament from Kairana in Muzaffarnagar district, reiterated that the demand for Harit Pradesh was gaining currency in 22 districts of western the State. Ms. Chaudhary was addressing a meeting in Bilsi, in Badaun district.

Meanwhile, a two-day training camp for RLD workers is to be held at Chitrakoot on July 27 and 28 where the party president will give relevant directives to his party men for the forthcoming Vidhan Sabha elections. This would be followed by a weavers' conference in Lucknow on August 12.

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