The Youth Congress on Monday protested against the “anti-farmer” policies of the Narendra Modi government. Carrying stacks of wheat, the protesters — which included farmers — marched from the IYC office and raised slogans. However, the protest was interrupted for 30 minutes by a man in his fifties climbed up a tree and began shouting. [related-post] The branch that the man had climbed was less than 10 metres above the ground. However, the Congress — that had blamed the AAP for not reacting sooner when a farmer died during its rally — took no chances. “Our volunteers climbed up and forced him to come down. He wasn’t a part of the protest. We were told later that he had some mental issues,” IYC general secretary Harsh Vardhan said. Apart from Congress leaders, police — who were similarly accused of inaction during the farmer’s death — swung into action. “Four police officers climbed up the tree to bring him down. Later we detained him,” a senior officer. Police identified the man as P Neelam Reddy. According to a shopkeeper at Jantar Mantar, the man was a regular at protests in the area and would often climb trees to get a better view. “He comes here often and sleeps nearby. During protests, he climbs up a tree and often falls asleep there. This time, he had climbed a low-lying branch. If he had jumped from there, he would have easily landed on his feet,” the shopkeeper said. Meanwhile, activists also burnt a stack of wheat straw as a mark of protest. Near Parliament Street police station, they were stopped by police. IYC president Amarinder Singh Raja Brar and former minister Randeep Singh Surjewala sat on the road. Congress MP KC Venugopal, said, “I have been sent by the high command to express strong support to the IYC and we will raise their voice in the House. When they raised these issues, the PM only offered big talk,” he said.
