Muzaffarnagar: A former teacher who has been sitting on a dharna against land mafia for a record 23 years has urged both PM Narendra Modi and CM yogi Aditayanth to take strong action against those who grab public land.As preparations are under way for the upcoming first phase of Lok Sabha polling here, Vijay Pal Singh organized an event to pay tribute to freedom fighter Bhagat Singh here on Saturday. Addressing the gathering, Vijay Pal said, “Before every election, every political party mentions in its manifesto that it will take strong action against land mafia but after coming to power, it ignores the issue.”Speaking with TOI, the former teacher said, “I sat on a dharna on February 26, 1996 and 23 years have elapsed since then. I will continue my dharna till I get good results. I keep saying that strong action must be taken against land mafia. Elections are on round the corner and I demand that every political party implements promises made in their manifestos.”This crusader against land mafia has won accolades for his fight against corruption and is credited to have got land freed from mafia. But for him, the war is yet to be won. He quit his job in 1996, when public land of his village was grabbed by land mafia. He sat at Muzaffarnagar collectorate to protest against land mafia and has been there since.In 2012, Vijay Pal walked 600 km to Lucknow in 19 days and met then CM Akhilesh Yadav to put forward his case.Unwavered by threats he receives regularly, Vijay Pal said, “I know there is too much corruption in this field but one needs to be consistent.”

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