Muzaffarnagar, Nov 15 (TIWN) The breakaway faction of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) led by Harpal Singh Bilari, has extended support to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra.

The BKU (Bilari) said that they will participate in the yatra when it passes through western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan in the coming days.  The yatra entered Maharashtra on November 7 and will pass through Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahrr.  A delegation of the organisation led by Bilari called on Congress leader and yatra's chairman Digvijay Singh in Delhi on Sunday and discussed how they could support the walkathon.  "After Mahatma Gandhi and JP Movement, the Bharat Jodo Yatra has turned into a public movement for protecting democratic values in the society. The yatra is seen as a ray of hope when the country is passing through political, social and economic crisis," Bilari told reporters. 

Bilari expressed the hope that Rahul Gandhi would work for the welfare of farmers and reminded that he had a vital role in the new land acquisition policy, which paved way for farmers getting adequate compensation of their acquired land for development projects.  Bilari is a veteran farmer leader of western Uttar Pradeh who worked with BKU leader Mahendra Singh Tikait and actively participated in his various movements.  He formed his organisation with like-minded leaders after Tikait's demise in 2011.  His organisation has good support base in western Uttar Pradesh, especially in Moradabad and Bareilly divisions.  Bilari was also included in the 40-member committee of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha during the 13-month-long farmers' movement against the three controversial farm bills.