NEW DELHI: Brandishing sugarcanes with some cane stalks tied to buses farmers from western UP laid siege to the capital's central district on Thursday, shouting slogans against state and central governments. Many were waving flags of Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), riding on the roofs of buses. Whether on buses or on the road, they ruled the city from morning to early evening.

This was a throwback to the scene 21 years ago when Jat leader Mahendra Singh Tikait had filled the India Gate lawns with thousands of his supporters. On Thursday, the old farmers with creased faces and white turbans on their head were peaceful but the younger lot flexed its muscle. They dared the cops, teased passersby and threatened to camp in the capital if the government failed to address their concerns.

Hundreds of buses came from far-off districts, including Bijnor and Mujaffarnagar, and all the protesters were carrying their food with them as if they had just gone out to the fields for the day. "The frustration and anger of farmers is at its peak. Because of faulty government policy, our sugarcane crop is still standing in the fields,'' fumed Yasbir Singh of Meerut. "Sowing of wheat has been delayed by three months. We all are waiting for the worst to happen next year when wheat prices will skyrocket.''

"Don't shout slogans against Mayawati or anyone, it's Delhi,'' warned an old farmer with a Gandhi cap. But it had no impact on the youth. They marched from Ramlila Maidan to Jantar Mantar, shouting and dancing. The folk music of Jat land in UP and Haryana, Ragini, could be heard at the venue. They waited for Ajit Singh's address, and within minutes of their leader giving the marching orders, they were back on the streets.

The situation at Parliament Street was different. The grand old man Tikait was sitting on dharna with a couple of hundred of his supporters. They have been camping on the country's most protected street, cooking their meals, and making bonfires with dry cowdung cakes for the past few days. Tikait, popularly addressed as `Baba', says their sit-in protest would continue till the government addressed their problems