News Analysis India

Tag: Bharatiya Kisan Union

  • Lakhimpur Kheri violence: Rakesh Tikait demands sacking of MoS Ajay Mishra, arrest of his son

    By PTI

    LAKHIMPUR KHERI: Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Monday demanded that Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra be sacked and that his son be arrested in connection with the death of farmers during a protest here.

    He also demanded Rs one crore compensation and a government job for the family members of the deceased farmers.

    “After our demands were met, then only will be cremate the (farmers),” he said at a press conference here.

    Eight people were killed on Sunday as violence erupted during a farmers’ protest, claiming the lives of both farmers and BJP workers ahead of a visit to Lakhimpur by Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.

    Four of the dead were people in the cars, apparently a part of a convoy of BJP workers who had come to welcome the UP minister.

    They were allegedly thrashed to death.

    The four others were farmers, officials said.

    Farmer leaders had claimed that the minister’s son Ashsish Mishra was in one of the cars which they alleged knocked down some protesters who were opposing the deputy CM’s visit.

    However, Ajay Mishra said he and his son were not present at the spot as alleged by some farmer leaders and he has photo and video evidence to prove it.

    During the press conference here, farmers also alleged that Ashish Mishra opened fire on farmers.

    Asked about certain comments made by Ajay Mishra in purported videos that have surfaced on social media, Tikait said the atmosphere in the region was being vitiated over the last 10 days.

    Mobile internet services have been suspended in parts of the violence-hit district, where restrictions under CrPC section 144, which prohibits assembly of four or more people, has also been imposed, according to officials.

    The UP Police took to Twitter early on Monday to describe the incident as “unfortunate” and said eight casualties have been reported till now as per the district administration.

    “ADG LO, ACS Agriculture, IG Range & Commissioner are on the spot & situation is under control. Adequate deployment has been done to prevent any untoward incident,” it added.

  • UP violence: Punjab parties seeks action against culprits; Rakesh Tikait rushes to the spot

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Saturday condemned the UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri incident in which two SUVs allegedly ran over a group of farmers, leading to violence that claimed eight lives.

    Other political parties in Punjab too demanded the registration of a case against those who “crushed farmers to death”.

    Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said he will visit Lakhimpur Kheri on Monday, along with a team of officials to have on a spot assessment of the situation there.

    Expressing deep anguish at the tragic incident, Channi said the “ghastly and inhuman act” must be condemned by all in the strongest possible words, according to a statement.

    Channi urged his counterpart in Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, to bring the culprits to book so as to ensure justice to the victims’ families.

    Eight people were killed on Saturday as violence erupted in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri during a farmers’ protest over Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit.

    Four of the dead were traveling in the vehicles and the remaining four were farmers.

    The farmers had assembled there to oppose Maurya’s visit to Banbirpur, the native village of Union Minister of State for Home and MP Ajay Kumar Mishra.

    The violence broke out after two SUVs allegedly ran over a group of anti-farm law protesters.

    Farmers alleged that the Union minister’s son was in one of the vehicles, a charge denied by Mishra.

    Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh also sought a probe into the incident.

    “Thorough probe needed into the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. Justice must be ensured for the victims of the violence. Violence or provocation of violence is no solution to any problem.’: @capt_amarinder,” tweeted Amarinder’s media adviser.

    Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party MLA and Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Harpal Singh, Cheema condemned the incident and said the culprits should be immediately put behind bars.

    He demanded that the farm laws should be repealed immediately.

    Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal demanded immediate registration of a murder case against the son of the Union minister for allegedly crushing farmers to death.

    “It seems the government is trying to protect the son of a Union minister of state, which is shocking and condemnable,” said Badal in a statement.

    The Union Home Ministry should direct the Uttar Pradesh government to provide justice to the families of dead farmers immediately, he said.

    Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu also sought registration of a case against the Union minister’s son.

    “No one is above the law, FIR under sec 302 IPC must be registered against Union Minister’s son for murder of innocent farmers, he should be immediately arrested and put behind the bars for this barbaric act !!,” tweeted Sidhu.

    Congress MP Partap Singh Bajwa also demanded the registration of a case against the son of the Union minister.

    “All perpetrators including the MoS Home’s son should be booked for murder, for crushing the protesting farmers. Anything less than that would be a gross miscarriage of justice,” said Bajwa in a tweet.

    Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait left for Lakhimpur Kheri on Sunday along with his several supporters following reports of violence there during a farmers’ protest in which eight people were killed.

    While Tikait will be reaching Lakhimpur Kheri by Sunday midnight, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary too will visit the place on Monday.

    “Farmers’ blood has been shed! I will reach Lakhimpur Kheri tomorrow,” Chaudhary tweeted in Hindi.

    While leaving Ghazipur on the Delhi-Ghaziabad border for Lakhimpur Kheri, Tikait, the BKU’s national spokesperson, saiud claimed “several” farmers are feared dead during the violence in which two vehicles were also allegedly set on fire.

    Eight people were killed as violence erupted in Lakhimpur Kheri during a farmers’ protest over Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit, an official said.

    Two SUVs were set on fire by angry farmers, reports said, after they hit a group of protesters.

    Four of the dead were travelling in the vehicles, a UP government official said in Lucknow.

    Lakhimpur Kheri District Magistrate Arvind Kumar Chaurasia said four farmers and four others were killed.

    The farmers had assembled there to oppose Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit to Banbirpur, the native village of Union Minister of State for Home and MP Ajay Kumar Mishra.

    In a video message, Tikait claimed the farmers turned violent when they were attacked while returning after protests.

    “The farmers in Lakhimpur were returning after the protest when they were attacked. Some of them were run over, while the fire was also opened on them. According to the information we have so far, several people have died in the incident,” Tikait said in a video message that he posted on Twitter.

    In a separate statement, he said the incident has “once again exposed the cruel and undemocratic face of the government”.

    “The people sitting in the government have revealed today to what extent they can stoop to suppress the farmers’ movement. But the government is forgetting that we did not bow down even to the Mughals and Firangis (referring to the British) for our rights. The government should not test the farmers’ patience any further. The farmer may die but is not going to get scared,” he said.

    He urged the UP government to register a murder case against the “killers of farmers” and ensure their arrest.

    He also appealed to the farmers to maintain peace, saying the victory will be theirs.

    “If the government does not come to its senses, not a single BJP leader will be allowed to leave his or her house,”{ the farmer leader threatened.

    The violence broke out after two SUVs allegedly ran over a group of anti-farm law protesters who were demonstrating against the visit of Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya at Tikonia-Banbirpur road in Lakhimpur Kheri district, some 130 km off state capital Lucknow.

  • UP violence: Punjab parties seek action against culprits; Rakesh Tikait rushes to the spot

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Saturday condemned the UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri incident in which two SUVs allegedly ran over a group of farmers, leading to violence that claimed eight lives.

    Other political parties in Punjab too demanded the registration of a case against those who “crushed farmers to death”.

    Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said he will visit Lakhimpur Kheri on Monday, along with a team of officials to have on a spot assessment of the situation there.

    Expressing deep anguish at the tragic incident, Channi said the “ghastly and inhuman act” must be condemned by all in the strongest possible words, according to a statement.

    Channi urged his counterpart in Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, to bring the culprits to book so as to ensure justice to the victims’ families.

    Eight people were killed on Saturday as violence erupted in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri during a farmers’ protest over Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit.

    Four of the dead were traveling in the vehicles and the remaining four were farmers.

    The farmers had assembled there to oppose Maurya’s visit to Banbirpur, the native village of Union Minister of State for Home and MP Ajay Kumar Mishra.

    The violence broke out after two SUVs allegedly ran over a group of anti-farm law protesters.

    Farmers alleged that the Union minister’s son was in one of the vehicles, a charge denied by Mishra.

    Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh also sought a probe into the incident.

    “Thorough probe needed into the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. Justice must be ensured for the victims of the violence. Violence or provocation of violence is no solution to any problem.’: @capt_amarinder,” tweeted Amarinder’s media adviser.

    Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party MLA and Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Harpal Singh, Cheema condemned the incident and said the culprits should be immediately put behind bars.

    He demanded that the farm laws should be repealed immediately.

    Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal demanded immediate registration of a murder case against the son of the Union minister for allegedly crushing farmers to death.

    “It seems the government is trying to protect the son of a Union minister of state, which is shocking and condemnable,” said Badal in a statement.

    The Union Home Ministry should direct the Uttar Pradesh government to provide justice to the families of dead farmers immediately, he said.

    Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu also sought registration of a case against the Union minister’s son.

    “No one is above the law, FIR under sec 302 IPC must be registered against Union Minister’s son for murder of innocent farmers, he should be immediately arrested and put behind the bars for this barbaric act !!,” tweeted Sidhu.

    Congress MP Partap Singh Bajwa also demanded the registration of a case against the son of the Union minister.

    “All perpetrators including the MoS Home’s son should be booked for murder, for crushing the protesting farmers. Anything less than that would be a gross miscarriage of justice,” said Bajwa in a tweet.

    Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait left for Lakhimpur Kheri on Sunday along with his several supporters following reports of violence there during a farmers’ protest in which eight people were killed.

    While Tikait will be reaching Lakhimpur Kheri by Sunday midnight, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary too will visit the place on Monday.

    “Farmers’ blood has been shed! I will reach Lakhimpur Kheri tomorrow,” Chaudhary tweeted in Hindi.

    While leaving Ghazipur on the Delhi-Ghaziabad border for Lakhimpur Kheri, Tikait, the BKU’s national spokesperson, saiud claimed “several” farmers are feared dead during the violence in which two vehicles were also allegedly set on fire.

    Eight people were killed as violence erupted in Lakhimpur Kheri during a farmers’ protest over Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit, an official said.

    Two SUVs were set on fire by angry farmers, reports said, after they hit a group of protesters.

    Four of the dead were travelling in the vehicles, a UP government official said in Lucknow.

    Lakhimpur Kheri District Magistrate Arvind Kumar Chaurasia said four farmers and four others were killed.

    The farmers had assembled there to oppose Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit to Banbirpur, the native village of Union Minister of State for Home and MP Ajay Kumar Mishra.

    In a video message, Tikait claimed the farmers turned violent when they were attacked while returning after protests.

    “The farmers in Lakhimpur were returning after the protest when they were attacked. Some of them were run over, while the fire was also opened on them. According to the information we have so far, several people have died in the incident,” Tikait said in a video message that he posted on Twitter.

    In a separate statement, he said the incident has “once again exposed the cruel and undemocratic face of the government”.

    “The people sitting in the government have revealed today to what extent they can stoop to suppress the farmers’ movement. But the government is forgetting that we did not bow down even to the Mughals and Firangis (referring to the British) for our rights. The government should not test the farmers’ patience any further. The farmer may die but is not going to get scared,” he said.

    He urged the UP government to register a murder case against the “killers of farmers” and ensure their arrest.

    He also appealed to the farmers to maintain peace, saying the victory will be theirs.

    “If the government does not come to its senses, not a single BJP leader will be allowed to leave his or her house,”{ the farmer leader threatened.

    The violence broke out after two SUVs allegedly ran over a group of anti-farm law protesters who were demonstrating against the visit of Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya at Tikonia-Banbirpur road in Lakhimpur Kheri district, some 130 km off state capital Lucknow.

  • Lakhimpur violence: BKU to protest across country tomorrow

    By PTI

    MUZAFFARNAGAR: The Bharatiya Kisan Union on Sunday convened an urgent panchayat here to discuss the Lakhimpur Kheri violence and decided to stage a protest in every district across the country on Monday.

    “The decision was taken during the panchayat held at Sisauli village and presided over by BKU’s national president Naresh Tikait,” the union’s media incharge Dharmendra Malik told PTI over the phone.

    “It has been decided that farmers groups will stage a demonstration outside offices of the district administration in every district,” Malik added.

    During the panchayat, the BKU also resolved to stick to the decision taken by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), which is spearheading the anti-farm law protests since November 2020.

    He said a group of over 200 farmers and BKU supporters led by its leader Rakesh Tikait was headed to Lakhimpur Kheri on Sunday night.

    Malik, who was also travelling to Lakhimpur, alleged that police in parts of western UP like Moradabad, Pilibhit and Rampur had tried to stop them but somehow they managed to continue their journey.

    “Barriers have been set up on roads at several places and police officers started checking vehicles. We are 200 to 300 people and more are joining us as we move ahead,” he told PTI.

    Eight people were killed on Sunday as violence erupted during a farmers’ protest, claiming the lives of both farmers and BJP workers ahead of a visit to Lakhimpur by Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, government officials said.

    Two SUVs were set on fire by angry farmers in the clash near Banbirpur in Lakhimpur Kheri.

  • Tikait to address ‘kisan mahapanchayat’ in Chhattisgarh’s Rajim on Tuesday

    By PTI

    RAIPUR: Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait will address a ‘kisan mahapanchayat’ in Rajim in Chhattisgarh’s Gariaband district on Tuesday, organisers of the event said.

    The event will be held from 11 am under the aegis of Chhattisgarh Kisan Majdoor Mahasangh (CKMM), an umbrella body of farm outfits, at Krishi Upaj Mandi premises, Tejram Vidrohi, convener of CKMM’s organising committee, said on Monday.

    “Leaders of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha from Delhi, Rakesh Tikait, Yogendra Yadav, Medha Patkar and others will attend the event. Apart from the withdrawal of the three farm laws, we also want the Centre to enact a law to ensure minimum support price (MSP) guarantee for agriculture produce,” he said.

    The three laws, namely The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020, were passed by Parliament in September last year.

    While those opposing these laws have claimed the Centre was trying to bring in corporates and private firms into the agriculture sector at the expense of farmers, the Union government has said these legislations are aimed at increasing the income of cultivators.

    Meanwhile, BJP MLA and former minister Brijmohan Agrawal called the event a “state-sponsored” one with the Chhattisgarh CM and Congress ministers expressing support to save their faces.

    “Nothing will happen with the visit if Tikait ji, He is just wasting his time. There is no provision in these bills which harms the interests of farmers and labourers,” he said.

    on Monday said the ongoing protest against the three Central agriculture laws will end only with a mutual understanding with the government and not by the intervention of the court, according to a release.

    On Monday, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 40 farm unions, observed a national shutdown to mark one year since President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the three controversial laws and 10 months since thousands of farmers set up camp at Delhi’s border points to voice their protest.

    Speaking at the 11th Bhartiya Chhatra Sansad virtually, Tikait appealed to young people to step out of their homes and join the “revolution”, said a release issued by the organisers.

    “Today the country witnessed Bharat Bandh. I feel the government is making senseless amendments to the laws and policies. The government wants to sell the valuable resources of the country, they want to sell the lands,” the release quoted Tikait as saying.

    He said it is high time for the youth to step out of their homes and join the revolution.

    “I feel this will strengthen the revolution immensely,” he added.

    Tikait also said if the government continues to dismantle the resources, one day India will be known as ‘Mazdoor colony’ and only labour class (will be left) in the country.

    “The protest will get over only with a mutual understanding with the government and not with the intervention of the court,” Tikait said.

    While suspending the implementation of the three farm laws, the Supreme Court had constituted a Committee on January 12, 2021.

    “We are absolutely against privatisation and we will sit as long as this bill (laws) are taken back,” he added.

    The Bhartiya Chhatra Sansad conclave was organised by the MIT School of Government (MIT-SOG), a constituent unit of MIT World Peace University (MIT-WPU, Pune.

    The three laws — The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020 — were passed by Parliament in September last year.

    Farmer groups have alleged that these laws will end the ‘mandi’ and the MSP (minimum support price) procurement systems and leave cultivators at the mercy of big corporates.

    The government has rejected these apprehensions as misplaced and asserted that these steps will help increase farmers’ income.

  • ‘Forget a day’s inconvenience for farmers’ sake’: Tikait urges people after Bharat Bandh ‘success’

    By PTI

    GHAZIABAD: The countrywide response to Monday’s Bharat Bandh has proved that the protests against three farm laws of the Centre are pan-India, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said and urged the people who faced inconvenience due to the shutdown to forget it for the farmers’ sake.

    He said people from not just three states (Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh) but across the country participated in the shutdown called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of over 40 farmer unions leading the protests against the three contentious laws, from 6 am to 4 pm and no violence was reported from anywhere.

    “Some people had described the protest as an issue of farmers only in three states (Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh). But the response and support to today’s bandh across the country has proved that it is a pan-India protest,” the national spokesperson of the BKU, part of the SKM, said.

    The 10-hour shutdown led to several trains being cancelled, highways and key roads blocked and thousands stranded for hours in parts of the country, particularly in the north.

    “Some people may have faced inconvenience due to the Bharat Bandh today, which is natural, but they should forget it for just one day in the name of farmers,” Tikait said in a statement.

    “The farmers have been on the roads, leaving their houses for the last 10 months, but the blind and deaf government neither sees nor hears anything,” he was quoted as saying in the statement issued by BKU media in-charge Dharmendra Malik.

    Tikait said in a democracy, there is no other option but to protest and warned the government that the farmers would go back to their homes only after the laws are abolished.

    “It is an appeal to our government that the problems of the farmers should be resolved as soon as possible,” he added.

    The influential BKU leader said the 10-month-long protests can end today if the government agrees to the farmers’ demands and urged the Centre to look into the issue at the earliest.

    He thanked farmers and workers across the country for making the shutdown a complete “success” and said the movement will continue till the three laws are repealed and a legal guarantee provided by the Centre on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) on crops.

    “The Bharat Bandh called by the SKM today has been a complete success. Farmers across the country came out on the roads and expressed their anger against the laws. At thousands of places, people came out in support of the bandh and staged demonstrations.”

    “Besides farmers, labourers, traders, private workers, trade unions and political parties extended support to the bandh across the country,” Tikait said.

    He also hit out at the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over the Rs 25 per quintal hike on the MSP for sugarcane announced last week and said a separate agitation would be carried out by the BKU over the issue in the coming days.

    Tikait is leading hundreds of anti-farm law protesters and BKU supporters at Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, one of the three key protest sites on the outskirts of the national capital, since November last year.

  • Ready to agitate for 10 years, but won’t allow farm laws to be implemented: Rakesh Tikait ahead of ‘Bharat Bandh’

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Sunday said farmers protesting against the central farm laws for the last 10 months are ready to agitate for 10 years, but will not allow the “black” legislations to be implemented.

    Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, have been sitting at Delhi’s borders for the past 10 months demanding that the farm laws, enacted in September last year, be scrapped.

    “It has been 10 months of this agitation. The government must listen with open ears that even if we have to agitate for 10 years we are ready,” said Tikait, while addressing a well-attended “Kissan Mahapanchayat” in Panipat.

    The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader said that the Centre will have to repeal these laws.

    Indicating that farmers were ready to intensify their stir if their demands are not met, Tikait asked farmers “to keep their tractors ready”, saying “these may be required anytime (to move towards) in Delhi”.

    The mahapanchayat came a day ahead of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha’s ”Bharat Bandh” call for September 27 against the Centre’s three contentious farm laws, marking completion of 10 months of the ongoing agitation.

    Tikait also said that if the present government does not rollback these laws then future governments will have to take it back.

    “Those who have to rule in this country, they will have to repeal these laws,” he asserted, while adding that “we will not allow these laws to be implemented, we will continue our agitation”.

    Tikait said that if farmers have not returned to their homes for 10 months, they will continue to agitate for 10 years, but will not allow the laws to be implemented.

    Attacking the central government, Tikait said, “They have taken cudgels at wrong place. Had they sensed the mood of these farmers (protesting against the farm laws), they would not have brought these black laws.”

    “These farmers will force this government to bow.”

    Tikait urged young farmers to make full use of social media to strengthen the ongoing agitation against the laws, saying there is a big responsibility on their shoulders to counter the propaganda which is sometimes unleashed to defame the stir.

    He said the government earlier had tried to project this agitation as limited to Punjab only.

    Then farmers were branded with various names and later it was also projected as if the stir was only of big farmers, Tikait said.

    The BKU leader thanked farmers of Haryana, saying a good number of them participated in the Muzaffarnagar ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’ in Uttar Pradesh earlier this month.

    The Muzaffarnagar mahapanchayat came just months ahead of the crucial Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.

    With polls also due early next year in Uttarakhand and Punjab, Tikait said similar meetings like the one at Muzaffarnagar will be held in these states too.

    Talking to reporters in Panipat after the event, Haryana BKU (Chaduni) chief Gurnam Singh Chaduni said that if the government does not listen to their demands, they will have to intensify their stir.

    He also called upon all sections of society to make the ‘Bharat Bandh’ successful.

  • BKU thanks Punjab CM Channi for support, but says won’t share stage with political parties

    By PTI

    GHAZIABAD: The Bharatiya Kisan Union has welcomed Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s support to the farmers’ stir but maintained that their stage will not be shared with any political party.

    The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) also refuted allegations that their protest against the Centre’s farm laws is being funded by opposition parties.

    “First and foremost, this is not a protest run by any political party or the opposition. It is a farmers’ movement against the three new anti-farmer laws brought by the BJP-led government,” Saurabh Upadhyay, a BKU spokesperson said.

    “There is no doubt that the current opposition is weak. We thank the new Punjab chief minister for supporting the protest. However, we are not going to share our stage with any political party,” Upadhyay said.

    Soon after his swearing-in as the Punjab CM, Channi, who replaced Amarinder Singh after a power tussle within the Congress Party, had on Monday extended support to the stir.

    The BKU, whose members and supporters led by national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait are encamped at Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border since late November also refuted allegations of its agitation being funded by opposition parties.

    “If the Congress had funded the protest, then why had former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh asked farmers to go to Delhi instead of pitching tents in his state.

    He had said that the protests were hurting Punjab,” Upadhyay argued.

    “Our protest is being organised in every state irrespective of political party affiliations. We have staged demonstrations in UP, Delhi and even in Congress-ruled Rajasthan,” he said.

    The farmers’ stir on the three Delhi border points of Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur will be completing 10 months on Sunday.

    On the future course of action, Upadhyay said the movement is being led by the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and the BKU has been an integral part of it.

    “A Bharat Bandh has been called on September 27. The top priority is to ensure the success of this bandh. After this, the SKM will take a call on the future course of action for the protest. The BKU will continue its fight for the farmers,” he added.

    Hundreds of farmers encamped at the three border sites of Delhi are demanding that the three contentious farm laws be repealed and a legal guarantee provided to them on minimum support price for crops.

    Tikait has been leading the protest at Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border.

    The Centre, which has held 11 rounds of formal dialogue with the farmers, has maintained that the new laws are pro-farmer.

  • Will continue to protest till farm laws are withdrawn: Rakesh Tikait

    By PTI

    SHAHJAHANPUR: Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Saturday said the farmers will continue to protest at Delhi’s borders till the three controversial agriculture laws are withdrawn.

    He alleged a nexus between the central government and corporates to “rob” the farmers of their hard-earned produce.

    Till the black laws are not withdrawn, the farmers will remain on the borders of Delhi, Tikait, who is the national spokesperson of the BKU, said, adding the farmers were now aware of their rights.

    Tikait and other farmer leaders had come to Bunda tehsil here on the occasion of the 38th death anniversary of Sant Sukhdev Singh to pay homage to him.

    National president of BKU (Chanuni faction) Gurnam Singh Chanuni termed the farmers’ movement as a “dharam yudh” being fought to safeguard the rights of the peasants.

    The intention of the government is to enslave the farmers which will not be allowed under any circumstances, he said.

  • Thousands of farmers attend Kisan mahapanchayat’ in Muzaffarnagar 

    By PTI

    LUKCNOW/MUZAFFARNAGAR: Thousands of farmers from Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring states on Sunday gathered at Muzaffarnagar for a ‘Kisan mahapanchayat’ aimed at “saving the country”, just months ahead of the crucial UP assembly polls.

    The event was organised by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) at the Government Inter College ground in Muzaffarnagar in protest against the Centre’s controversial farm laws.

    “These meetings will be held across the country. We have to stop the country from getting sold. Farmers should be saved, the country should be saved; business, employees and youth should be saved–this is the aim of the rally, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait said.

    Popular names like Medha Patkar and Yogendra Yadav were seen on the dais.

    Yadav was given a yellow robe by Tikait, while the BKU leader was presented a mace at the event.

    Meanwhile, BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Sunday described the protesting farmers as “our own flesh and blood” and suggested that the government should re-engage with them in reaching common ground.

    BKU media in-charge Dharmendra Malik said farmers belonging to 300 organisations spread across different states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka, among others, have gathered for the event.

    He said over 5,000 ‘langars’ (food stalls), including some mobile stalls, have been set up for the participants.

    The farmers, including women carrying flags of different organisations and wearing different coloured caps, were seen arriving at the venue in buses, cars and tractors.

    A woman farmer leader from Karnataka addressed the gathering in Kannada language.

    One of the participants blew a ransingha’ (trumpet), the photograph of which was posted by the Kisan Ekta Morcha on Twitter.

    “In old times, when the fight was for honour and respect, this instrument (ransingha) was used.

    Today, a call has been given for war by all ‘kisan majdoor’ unions against the BJP’s ‘corporate raj’,” it tweeted in Hindi.

    Meanwhile, the Muzaffarnagar administration denied Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhry’s request to sprinkle flowers from a helicopter on the venue and participants of the mahapanchayat.

    City magistrate Abhishek Singh rejected the request, saying it cannot be allowed due to security reasons.

    The district authorities have posted police personnel at the residences of Union minister Sanjiv Balyan and BJP MLA Umesh Malik here, as a precautionary measure.

    The SKM on Saturday claimed that thousands of farmers from 15 states had reached Muzaffarnagar to participate in the mahapanchayat.

    The umbrella body of 40 farmer unions spearheading the farmers’ agitation against the Centre’s three farm laws said the event would prove that the agitation had the support of “all castes, religions, states, classes, small traders and other sections of society”.

    “The mahapanchayat of September 5 will make the Yogi-Modi governments realise the power of farmers, farm labourers and supporters of the farm movement.

    The Muzaffarnagar mahapanchayat will be the biggest ever in the last nine months,” the SKM had said in a statement.

    It also said that 100 medical camps had been set up for the farmers attending the mahapanchayat.

    The farmers’ protest against the three contentious laws has completed over nine months since they first arrived at Delhi borders.

    They have been demanding the repeal of the laws, which they are afraid will do away with the MSP system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporations.