News Analysis India

Tag: Rakesh Tikait

  • Ready for talks, government should come with new proposal, farmers say; Tikait calls for ‘tractor revolution’

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Protesting farmer unions Saturday said they are ready to resume talks with the government, but asked it to come up with a fresh proposal as the existing offer to put the three farm laws on hold for 12-18 months is not acceptable to them.

    The unions, however, made it clear that they would not settle for anything less than the repeal of the three contentious laws.

    Addressing a press conference at the Singhu border here, Samyukta Kisan Morcha’s senior leader Darshan Pal said the ball is now in the government’s court now.

    “We are ready to talk. The ball is in the government’s court. We clearly told them that their last proposal (of suspending the farm laws for 12-18 months) was not acceptable to us. Now, they should come up with a new proposal,” he told reporters.

    The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of farm unions leading the protests at the city border points, thanked all global personalities for their support to the protests.

    He said the farmers have been on the agitation for “many months and many farmers have been martyred”.

    “It is a shame that at the behest of the government, some people want to suppress this movement by calling it as an ‘internal matter’, but it is necessary to understand that in democracy, people are superior, not the government,” it stated.

    ALSO READ | Repeal farm laws without further delay: Sukhbir Badal to Modi government

    The assertion comes in the backdrop of support extended by some global celebrities such as singer Rihanna and climate activist Greta Thunberg to the farmers’ protests against the three laws.

    Talking about the Saturday’s ‘chakka jam’, the farmer leader claimed it got a huge nationwide support which once again “proved” that farmers across the country are united against these farm laws.

    Pal also condemned Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar’s statement in Parliament on Friday.

    “He (Tomar) insulted the struggle of farmers of India by saying that only one state’s farmers are opposing the agricultural laws,” Pal said.

    Countering the Opposition’s claim that farmers across the country are agitated over the three laws, Tomar had on Friday said in Rajya Sabha that peasants of just one state are being misinformed and instigated.

    After the 11th round of talks on January 22, the government’s negotiations with the representatives of thousands of protesting farmers had hit a roadblock as the unions had rejected the Centre’s proposal to put three contentious laws on hold.

    The government had asked unions to revert by January 23 in case they agree to the suspension proposal and the talks can continue only thereafter.

    However, the unions remained firm on their demands.

    “Despite all the conspiracies of the government and anti-social elements, the SKM stands on the demand for the complete repeal of all the three laws and legal guarantee of the MSP,” Samyukta Kisan Morcha said in the Saturday statement.

    India had Wednesday hit out at global celebrities such as singer Rihanna and Thunberg for their support of the farmers’ protests, the focus of a sharply polarised international debate that saw several Bollywood and cricket stars and top ministers rally around the government in its pushback.

    The SKM claimed that according to the information compiled so far, 204 agitators have died in the ongoing movement, but the government is still ignoring the pain of farmers.

    ALSO READ | Centre should accept protesting farmers’ demands: Sisodia

    Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at three Delhi border points — Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur — for over 70 days, demanding a repeal of the three farm laws.

    Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait on Saturday called on peasants across the country to join the “tractor revolution” as part of the ongoing protests at Delhi’s borders against the new agri laws introduced by the Centre.

    During a speech to supporters at the Ghazipur protest site, Tikait reached out to the farming community, many of whom especially in the Delhi-NCR region have been upset over the National Green Tribunal’s ban on diesel vehicles, including tractors, that are over 10 years old.

    “The tractors which run in the farms will now run at the NGT’s office in Delhi also. Until recently, they had not asked which vehicles are 10 years old. What is their plan? Phase out tractors older than 10 years and help the corporates? But the tractors older than 10 years will also run and the movement (for repeal of the new farm laws) will also be strengthened,” Tikait, 51, told the crowd amid cheers.

    ALSO READ | Business as usual at Singhu border as action shifts to other highways

    He said more and more farmers across the country will participate in the ongoing farmers’ stir for rollback of the contentious laws.

    Recently, 20,000 tractors were in Delhi and the next target is taking that number to 40 lakh, Tikait said.

    He also called on tractor owners to attach their vehicles with the ‘tractor kraanti’ (tractor revolution).

    “Write ‘Tractor Kranti 2021, 26 January’ on your tractors. Wherever you will go, you will be respected. We have a target of 40 lakh tractors,” he said.

    The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader, whose emotional appeal recently had revived the protest that was losing momentum post the January 26 violence in Delhi, also called on villagers to bring a fistful of soil from their farmlands to the agitation sites and take back a similar amount of ‘mitti’ of the revolution from the protest sites.

    ALSO READ | ‘Negative powers’ attempting to create misconceptions over farm laws will fail: Jitendra Singh

    “Go and spread this revolutionary soil in your farmlands and never will traders look at your farmlands (to usurp it),” Tikait said.

    Exhorting supporters to keep the momentum going, he asked them to be prepared to reach protest sites as the agitation at Ghazipur, Tikri and Singhu border points of Delhi could go on till October.

    “Be prepared at villages, whenever a call is made, reach the protest the way the youth (from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh) has done (after the January 26 episode),” he said.

    Ghazipur has earlier witnessed the influence of Tikait over the farmers’ community in north India when hundreds of people, including women and children, from villages in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand reached here with water and home-made food on the BKU leader’s call.

    Tikait had made a call for water and food from villages following disruptions in water supply at the protest site by local authorities in the wake of the January 26 violence.

  • Ready to take agitation across the nation: Rakesh Tikait

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  With farm agitation entering its 73rd day at the Ghazipur border, farmer leader and Bhartiya Kisan Union spokesperson Rakesh Tikait is not ready to budge but move ahead. Talking to Siddhanta Mishra, Tikait said he is planning to attend more meetings and grow the agitation across the country

    What is the way forward for the farmer agitation?In the next few days, we will expand the reach of our agitation and will visit programmes in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The protest will continue from here and I will visit other places as well. We are getting support from everywhere and will continue our agitation till the farm laws are taken back.

    When is the next meeting with the government?The government has to tell. We are ready for talks like the way they used to happen earlier. We have a committee and system in place for scheduling talks. If they get the proposal, talks will take place.

    PM Modi recently said he is just a phone call away?Formal talks do not happen like this. The Centre very well knows how to communicate to us and our unions.

    You are becoming the face of the agitation. How big is this responsibility?I am a nobody. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha is the face of this protest and the entire farming community is to be given credit for this agitation. Our main stage and our main council is at Singhu border. Everything is happening under the Samyukta Kisan Morcha. The Ghazipur protest is a part of that.

    Was there a ‘Jawan vs Kisan’ situation at some instances during protest?Both are the same. ‘Jawan’ comes from ‘Kisan’. A soldier guards country’s border, a farmer guards their farmlands. Both are in tandem.

  • Decision to not have chakka jam in certain states taken hastily: Samkyukta Kisan Morcha leader

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Senior farmer leader Darshan Pal on Saturday said the decision by BKU leader Rakesh Tikait to not hold ‘chakka jam’ in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand was taken in “a hasty manner” and it would have been better had he first discussed his plan with the Samkyukta Kisan Morcha.

    Earlier this week, the Morcha, an umbrella body of farmer unions leading the protests at three Delhi border points — Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur — against a trio of farm laws for over 70 days, had announced a nationwide ‘chakka jam’ on February 6.

    On Friday, Tikait told reporters that there would be no road blockade in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand on Saturday. A senior farmer leader, who didn’t wish to be named, said that the BKU leader’s “sudden decision” surprised some leaders of the SKM.

    “It would have been better if Rakesh Tikait had talked and discussed about his proposal of not having chakka jam in UP and Uttarakhand with us before telling it to the media. He, of course, did discuss it with the SKM later and it was a joint thing,” Pal told reporters at a press conference at the Singhu border.

    “So basically what we are trying to say here is that he announced it in a hasty manner. Nothing else,” he added.

    However, Pal cleared that everything is fine within the SKM and people shouldn’t assume that there are any differences between the leaders. Later in the evening, the SKM issued a statement, claiming that ‘chakka jam’ was also held in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand on Saturday. “Chakka jam programme in Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand and Bihar was a complete success,” it stated.

    ALSO READ| Farmers’ ‘chakka’ jam’ protest affects Punjab, Haryana; scattered demonstrations in other states

    It also stated that farmers organised chakka jam in more than 200 places in Madhya Pradesh while in Maharashtra, farmers led the chakka jam in many places, including Wardha, Pune and Nashik. “The success of Chakka Jam was also seen in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu,” it stated.

    The three-hour long nationwide ‘chakka jam’ by protesting farmers was held on Saturday amid tight security, even as there was no such event in the national capital which was turned into a fortress with heavy security deployment by the Delhi Police, paramilitary and reserve forces personnel to prevent any untoward situation.

    The Delhi Police had also used drone cameras to keep a tight vigil at protest sites. Ten Delhi Metro stations, including Mandi House and ITO, were closed for the duration of the ‘chakka jam’ from 12 noon to 3 pm, and reopened after the protest ended.

    Around 50 people were detained near Shaheedi Park in central Delhi for allegedly holding an agitation in support of the ‘chakka jam’.

  • What’s wrong if foreign celebs support our stir; don’t know Rihanna, Greta Thunberg: Rakesh Tikait

    By PTI
    GHAZIABAD: “Mujhe kya pata, kara hoga.Main kya unhe jaanun!” farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said on Thursday, breaking into his characteristic rustic style of conversation when asked about the support from several international celebrities to the protests against new agri laws.

    The 51-year-old Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader from the hinterlands of Muzaffarnagar in western Uttar Pradesh welcomed the support from international artistes and activists, including Rihanna and Greta Thunberg, although admitting he does not know them.

    Talking to the media at Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, Tikait, who is credited with reviving the agitation that had gone slim after the January 26 violence in Delhi, sought to know who these people were.

    “Kaun hain ye videshi kalaakar? (Who are these foreign artists)?” Tikait said exhibiting unawareness when asked about the foreigners supporting the farmers’ movement.

    When informed about American pop-singer Rihanna, adult star Mia Khalifa and Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg, the Sisauli-born Tikait responded: “Mujhe kya pata, kara hoga. Main kya unhe jaanun! (They would have supported the farmers’ protest, but I don’t know them!).”

    “Koi videshi agar samarthan kar raha to kya dikkat hai, kuch le-de thodi na raha hai (If some foreigner is supporting the movement, then what is the problem. They are not giving us or taking anything away from us),” he said.

    ALSO READ| US govt reaction to farmer protests must be seen in its entirety: Ministry of External Affairs

    Commenting on a futile attempt of 15 members of parliament to reach Ghazipur and meet protestors earlier on Thursday, the BKU national spokesperson said the MPs should have sat on the ground on the other side of the barricading where they were stopped by the Delhi Police.

    “Barricading laga rakhi hai inge. Unhe aana tha, we wahin baith jaate. We unghe baith jaate hum inge baithe the (A barricading has been set up here. The MPs had to come, but they should have sat down there itself. They would have been on the other side and we on this side (of the barricades),” he said.

    Tikait said he did not have any talk with the 15 MPs who had tried to come to Ghazipur to meet the protestors. He added that they were also not allowed to speak to the protestors.

    The 15 MPs from 10 Opposition parties, including the SAD, the DMK, the NCP and the Trinamool Congress, wanted to meet protestors at Ghazipur. Members of the National Conference, the RSP and the IUML were also part of the delegation.

    Parliament member and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who coordinated the visit, said the leaders were not allowed to cross the barricades and reach the protest site, where thousands of farmers are camping since November with a demand that the government repeal the new agri-marketing laws enacted last September.

    ALSO READ| Farmers’ protest: No ‘chakka jam’ on February 6 in Delhi, says Rakesh Tikait

    The farmers protest at Ghazipur, Tikri and Singhu at Delhi borders have now attained global spotlight with prominent international celebrities and rights activists talking about the stir.

    In its pushback, the government said the facts on the issue must be ascertained before rushing to comment on it, and asserted that the “temptation” of sensationalist social media hashtags and views is “neither accurate nor responsible”.

  • Agri laws: We can bring down government, warns Tikait; Tomar says not having informal talks with farmers

    Express News Service
    CHANDIGARH: The protesting farmers at a mahapanchayat in Haryana’s Jind district on Wednesday passed five resolutions demanding a repeal of the three farm laws, making a law to ensure minimum support price, waiving farmers’ loans, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendations and withdrawal of criminal cases registered against protesters in Delhi on January 26.

    They also threatened a mahapanchayat at the national level, saying such gatherings will continue across the country till government repeals the laws. 

    Speaking at the Jind mahapanchayat on Wednesday, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait warned the BJP government could lose power if the agitation continues.

    “The government should listen carefully: What will you do if the youth give a call for ‘gaddi wapsi’ (removal from power),” he said. Referring to massive blockades put up by Delhi Police at border points, Tikait said, “When the king is scared, he secures the fortress.’’

    Just before Tikait was to begin his speech at the ”mahapanchayat” in Kandela village, the makeshift stage on which the farmer leaders had gathered collapsed under their weight.

    Nobody was reported hurt and Tikait went on to address the gathering.

    But the episode triggered a commotion and he and the event organisers had to repeatedly tell people to maintain calm.

    ALSO READ | Fortification continues at Ghazipur, farmers gear up for February 6 ‘chakka jaam’

    Calling for a “wapsi” (withdrawal) of the new central laws, Tikait indirectly warned the Narendra Modi government that it could lose its “gaddi” (power) if the agitation continues.

    “We have so far talked about “bill wapsi” (repealing the farm laws). The government should listen carefully. What will you do if the youth call for “gaddi wapsi” (removal from power)?” he said.

    He asked the Centre to repeal the three laws and frame a new one to assure continuation of the minimum support price (MSP) system.

    The BKU leader from Uttar Pradesh has been camping at Ghazipur on the Delhi-UP border as part of a campaign by farmer unions against the central laws enacted in September.

    Farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, are also massed at Tikri and Singhu on the Delhi-Haryana border for two months.

    After violence on Republic Day, police barricaded these protest sites with cement barriers and spikes on the roads leading to them.

    Criticising the restrictions, Tikait said, “When the king is scared, he secures the fortress.”

    He suggested that he would lay down on the nails embedded on the roads there so that others can cross them by stepping on him.

    He said the Centre must talk with the farmer unions spearheading the agitation.

    The ”mahapanchayat” was attended by Haryana BKU chief Gurnam Singh Chaduni and BKU leader from Punjab, Balbir Singh Rajewal.

    Over 50 “khap” leaders were also present.

    ALSO READ | ‘India stands united’: Amit Shah as global celebrities lend voice to farmers’ protest

    Last week, a large number of farmers participated in a mahapanchayat in UP’s Muzaffarnagar in support of the BKU-led protest at Ghazipur.

    Jind is often considered part of Haryana’s political heartland and the ”mahapanchayat” was meant to muster support for the farmers’ agitation.

    It was organised by Sarva Jatiya Kandela Khap headed by Tekram Kandela.

    Five resolutions were passed at the “mahapanchayat”.

    These urged the government to repeal the new laws, give a legal guarantee on the MSP, implement the Swaminathan Commission report, waive farm loans and release farmers arrested after the events in Delhi on January 26.

    Tikait said the campaign against the farm laws was going strong.

    “The way we are getting support from khap panchayats, we will win this fight.”

    He urged everyone involved, particularly the youth, to keep protesting in a peaceful manner and assured victory will be theirs.

    He underlined the role played by farmers and their unions from Punjab.

    “We need their help. Haryana and Uttar Pradesh will back them. We will maintain the prestige of the farmer’s turban,” he said.

    Seeking to project unity among the farmer unions, Tikait referred to BKU (Rajewal) chief Balbir Singh Rajewal as “our leader”.

    Tikait, whose show of emotion recently appeared to have helped revive the farmers’ agitation after the violence on Republic Day, said there are 40 unions spearheading the protest and decisions will be taken collectively.

    Rajewal accused the Modi government of behaving with farmers in a manner that “no other government in the world” would.

    “Centre brought laws which will destroy farmers and this country. We began this agitation several months back in Punjab, it has now spread to entire country,” he told the “mahapanchayat”.

    ALSO READ | Sachin Tendulkar takes potshot at international celebs, says external forces can be spectators but not participants

    On the new police barricades, Rajewal said the government has turned protest sites into a kind of “open jails”.

    Khap leader Kandela said the prime minister and the Union home minister should talk directly with the protesting farmers.

    The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Wednesday said it is a matter of pride that eminent personalities of the world are showing sensitivity towards the cause of farmers, but it is unfortunate that the Government of India is not understanding their pain.

    The remarks come a day after international pop star Rihanna and young environmental activist Greta Thunberg tweeted in support of the farmers’ agitation.

    The SKM, an umbrella body of farmer unions protesting against three agri laws, acknowledged the support of international personalities towards the ongoing farmers’ movement.

    “On one hand, it is a matter of pride that eminent personalities of the world are showing sensitivity towards the cause of farmers, while on the other hand, it is unfortunate that the Government of India is not understanding the pain of the farmers and some people are even calling peaceful farmers as terrorists,” the SKM said in a statement issued by its leader Darshan Pal.

    The Morcha also asserted that the agitation is getting stronger day by day.

    “After massive support in kisan mahapanchayats in Uttar Pradesh, farmers have organised mahapanchayats in Dabra and Phulbagh in Madhya Pradesh, Mehndipur in Rajasthan and Jind in Haryana. A large number of farmers will be coming to Delhi in the coming days,” the statement said.

    Farmers from Rajasthan and Punjab are coming to the Shahjahanpur border daily.

    The farmers have again started a dharna at Palwal border and many from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan will join the agitation in coming days, the Morcha said in the statement.

    The umbrella body of farmer unions said it has taken note of transport-related problems and alleged that the government has shut down the internet and now the entry of media persons to the protest sites is also being “choked” by it.

    “The government is fearful of the reality of this movement reaching the common people across the country and is doing its best to block communication from the protest sites,” the SKM said.

    “It is high time that internet services are restored, barricading of main and internal roads is removed, supplies are freely allowed, and protesters are released by the government, the Morcha demanded.

    The outfit also extended support to the one-day strike of electricity workers across the country, saying it “strongly opposed” privatisation of the power sector.

    Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar Wednesday said the Centre is not holding any informal talk with protesting farmers and described putting up of more barricades and suspending internet in and around agitation sites as law and order issues related to local administrations.

    The last and 11th round of meeting between the government and 41 protesting unions, held on January 22, was inconclusive.

    The Centre had asked unions to reconsider the government’s proposal to suspend new farm laws for 18 months.

    Asked if the government was engaging with the unions informally, Tomar told PTI, “No. We will inform when formal talks will be held.”

    He was also asked when the government will hold the next round of talks.

    When told that protesting unions demand that no formal talks with the government can be held until the police and the administration stop “harassing” them and release the detained farmers, the minister said, “They should talk to the Police Commissioner. I don’t want to comment on the law and order issue. That’s not my job.”

    Separately, Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary said in a statement that the dialogue is the only way out for finding a solution for any kind of protest.

    The government is trying and it is ready to talk inside as well as outside Parliament, he said.

    The minister said the laws are in favour of farmers, but the Opposition was politicising the issue.

    Choudhary also said he will give up his ministership and leave the politics if farmers lose even one inch of their land under these laws.

    Since the January 22 talks, there has been no meeting between the farmer leaders and the Centre to discuss the farm laws although the government reiterated that its offer stands and doors are open for discussion.

    On Tuesday, Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) — the umbrella body of farmers’ unions protesting the Central farm laws — had said that there can be no “formal” talks with the government until the “harassment” of different kinds against the farmers’ movement by the police and administration is “immediately stopped”.

    The SKM had also said no formal proposal for talks has been received by it.

    “Though no formal proposal for talks came from the government, we clearly state that the talks will be held only after the unconditional release of farmers who are in illegal police custody,” SKM had said in a statement.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an all-party meeting on Saturday had said the government’s offer to suspend the farm laws for 18 months was still on the table and the agriculture minister was just a phone call away to take the talks forward.

    The sites of the farmer protest at Delhi’s borders have turned into fortresses with police beefing up security and putting up multi-layer barricades to stop the movement of vehicles.

    Concertina wires and metal spikes have also been put up to keep off people on foot.

    The strengthened security measures come after the violence during the Republic Day tractor parade by the farmers.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Sanjay Raut meets farmer leader Rakesh Tikait at Ghazipur protest site

    By PTI
    GHAZIABAD: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday reached the farmers’ protest site at Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border where he met Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait.

    The Maharashtra leader arrived at Ghazipur when security has been further tightened at the farmers’ protest site.

    Raut, one of the handful people wearing a face mask, met Tikait and other protestors off the stage after reaching here around 1 pm.

    “The way vandalism unfolded here after January 26 and an attempt made to suppress the movement and Tikait, we felt it is our responsibility to stand by the farmers’ and extend support of the whole of Maharashtra, Shiv Sena and Uddhav Thackeray saahab,” Raut told reporters.

    Tikait said, “The farmers’ protest is apolitical and no politician has been given the mic or space on the stage.

    ” A major Hindutva ally of the BJP-led NDA till 2019, Shiv Sena was one of the 19 opposition parties which boycotted the President’s address ahead of the Budget Session on January 29 and extended support to the farmers’ agitation.

    Previously leaders of Shiromani Akali Dal, Aam Aadmi Party, Congress, Rashtriya Lok Dal, Samajwadi Party, among others, visited Ghazipur, which has become the camping ground for BKU-led protestors for over two months now.

    Of late, thousands have converged in support of the ongoing stir against the contentious new farm laws.

    Initially, farmer unions had maintained that their protests were apolitical but have lately welcomed politicians openly.

    Rakesh Tikait on January 31 had said the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) had not allowed political parties in the movement against new central farm laws but took political support “only after the democracy was mocked” at protest sites.

    Meanwhile, concertina wires spread further around the UP Gate (Ghazipur border) on Tuesday, while multi-layered barricading of iron and concrete structures along with nails studded on roads made sure no protestor movement towards Delhi.

    The internet also remained suspended at the protest site.

    Thousands of farmers have been protesting at the Delhi borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, demanding a rollback of the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

    The protesting farmers have expressed the apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big corporations.

    However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring better opportunities to farmers and introduce new technologies in agriculture.

  • Farmers protest: Despite increasing number of barricades thousands converge at Delhi borders

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Despite an increasing number of barricades, thousands of farmers have been converging at Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border following a tearful Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait’s impassioned appeal to protesters to bolster the stir.

    The tide of the over two-month protest against the farm laws, which had lost its sheen after the violence in Delhi during the tractors parade on Republic day, appears to have regained momentum as is evident from the increased number of tents set up at the protest site.

    Many protesters waited for hours to talk to Tikait or take a selfie with him as the farmer leader remained busy meeting his supporters and talking to the media.

    A Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) member said Tikait has been sleeping only for around three hours a day for the last three days.

    “He had complained of blood pressure issues, but is doing fine now,” the member said.

    Shiromani Akal Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal visited the Ghazipur border to lend his support to the protesting farmers.

    Badal, whose party pulled out of the NDA government over the three farm laws, met Tikait for around 10 minutes.

    ALSO READ | Farmers protests: BJP leader smells ‘political conspiracy’ behind Republic Day violence

    Farmers, carrying tricolours and raising slogans, took out marches, while a group of youths gathered at a spot near the Delhi-Meerut expressway and danced to patriotic songs till the sun went down.

    The scene was quite different just three days ago.

    A day after the Republic Day violence in Delhi, when a section of farmers taking part in the tractor parade broke through barriers, clashed with police and stormed the Red Fort for a few hours, the farmer game it seemed to be over.

    Morale plummeted and many farmers returned home.

    On Wednesday night, the atmosphere was tense at Ghazipur.

    The Ghaziabad administration issued an “ultimatum” to the protesters occupying a stretch of the Delhi-Meerut expressway to vacate as the January 26 clashes painted a not-so-peaceful picture of the peasant community.

    As security presence at the site escalated and fears grew that the protesters would be forcibly evicted, an emotional Tikait broke down while talking to reporters.

    “The protest won’t be called off. Farmers are being met with injustice,” he said and even threatened to end his life for the cause.

    A layer of barbed wire fencing was added to the existing multi-layered barricading at the protest site.

    But that couldn’t keep people from reaching the area where farmers have been camping since late November.

    ALSO READ | Samyukta Kisan Morcha claims over 100 people missing since tractor parade, forms panel

    Sarita Rana, a BKU member from Gurgaon, said she walked two kilometres to reach the protest site.

    Rana said she and her husband couldn’t sleep a bit the night they watched a video of Tikait crying.

    “We have never seen him crying. It moved us,” she said.

    “The government has been trying to scuttle the protest by blocking roads and withdrawing facilities such as water and power supply. But this has strengthened our resolve to fight on,” Rana said.

    The farmers kept arriving with water-filled cans from their hometown for their beloved leader.

    According to a BKU member’s estimate, over 10,000 farmers have gathered at the UP Gate protest site on Sunday.

    Tikait said he respects the sentiments of the protesters and the water-filled cans will be emptied in the Ganga.

    Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s monthly broadcast, wherein on Sunday he maintained that his government is committed to “modernising” farming and has been taking many steps, many urged him to listen to the ‘Mann ki Baat’ of the farmers.

    “If a politician can come to our house asking for our votes, why cannot they come to us here to resolve the issue. If PM Modi wants to talk, he should give us a phone number to call,” said 64-year Satbir Singh from Haryana’s Jind district.

    Ravinder Singh, 63, from Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur, said farmers want to return to their fields, “but that will happen only when the three laws are repealed and a legal guarantee ensuring minimum support price is provided.”

    Meanwhile, Delhi’s Singhu border witnessed increased hustle-bustle on Sunday as more farmers from Punjab and Haryana poured in to join the protest against the Centre’s new agri laws, even as some complained of poor internet connectivity and difficulties in getting water and food supplies.

    The protesters also ramped up vigil at the protest site sprawled on the GT Karnal Road at the Delhi-Haryana border, with more stick-carrying volunteers taking regular rounds, in the backdrop of a violent protest by ‘locals’ on Friday.

    Thousands of farmers reached Singhu Border on Saturday evening in hundreds of vehicles including tractor trollies from Punjab and Haryana, said Satnam Singh Sahni, general secretary of Bhartiya Kisan Union, BKU (Doaba).

    “Over a thousand farmers from Doaba region in Punjab reached here in 250 vehicles on Saturday night. Also, around 250 trollies from Mohali (Punjab) and 300 trollies from different places of Haryana brought thousands of people here,” Sahni said.

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    He claimed thousands of more farmers were on their way to join the protest.

    Sahni said problems of poor internet and scarcity of water and supplies including food items was being faced by the farmers for the last few days as the routes leading to the protest site were blocked by the police.

    A group of farmers from Sangrur said earlier the locals from nearby areas in Haryana and Delhi provided water and other items but were now unable to do so due to restrictions put in place by the police.

    “We are not going to be deterred by these roadblocks erected by the police. We have already stocks for many weeks. There is a little problem of water for bathing and washing purposes but we are fine and arranging other sources to get water,” said Nachhattar Singh.

    The farmers said they were facing problems of poor internet connectivity following the violence during the tractor rally on Republic Day .

    “The movement has gained worldwide attention but due to absence of internet, we are unable to update people in the country and abroad,” said a young protester Satbir Singh from Ludhiana.

    In view of the protest by ‘locals’ on Friday demanding clearing of the highway by the protesting farmers, the security has been increased at the site.

    “They were people from the BJP sent by the government to scare us. Now, we have made arrangements to meet with any situation. More volunteers are now patrolling and vigil has been enhanced with more than one person from each tractor trolley keeping watch during the night,” said one functionary of Samyukta Kisan Morcha.

    ALSO READ | Haryana BJP leader Balwan Singh Daulatpuria quits party over farm laws

    The protesters under the banner of Kisan Mazdoor Sangthan, Punjab, who have set up a separate stage from the Morcha stage at Singhu, were affected by violence on Friday in which a police officer also sustained injury.

    “The locals from Delhi side who were actually agents of the ruling party pelted stones that tore our tents.

    They also damaged our washing machines and other items with police failing to control them,” said elderly Dilbagh Singh who suffered injury on his left hand during the protest by ‘locals’.

    The police has now closed all the routes leading to problems of water and supplies of firewood and other items for Langar, he said.

  • Agri laws: Farmer leaders bat for ‘respectful solution’; Opposition steps up attack on government

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI/GHAZIABAD: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his government was just a “phone call away” for talks with the farmers agitating against the farm laws, union leaders on Sunday said a “respectful solution” should be found but they will not agree to anything “under pressure”.

    Farmer leaders Rakesh and Naresh Tikait demanded that the government release the protesters to create a conducive environment for talks, even as Prime Minister Modi, during his monthly radio address, said that the country was saddened by the “insult” to the Tricolour on the Republic Day, referring to the violence at Red Fort during the farmers’ tractor parade.

    As hundreds of farmers continued to converge at Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border following a tearful Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait’s impassioned appeal on Thursday, the ripples spread deeper in western Uttar Pradesh where a mahapanchyat was held in Baghpat in support of the stir, the third in as many days in the key region.

    Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal met Rakesh Tikait, joining several other leaders from the opposition parties who have visited the protest site to extend their support.

    The farmers will honour the dignity of the prime minister, but are also committed to protecting their self-respect, the Tikait brothers who are leading the agitation asserted, even as they warned that the farm laws issue could cost the BJP dear electorally.

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    “They (Farmers) are free to vote anyone, we cannot ask them to vote for a particular party. If a party has hurt them, why would they bring it to power again?” Naresh Tikait said. Both the leader said they were open to talks with the government to find a “middle path”.

    Prime Minister Modi had on Saturday said his government’s offer on agri laws made to protesting farmers “still stands” and the Centre was just a “phone call away” for talks, days after violence broke out in parts of the national capital on Republic Day.

    Rakesh said they will honour and respect the dignity of prime minister, and added the farmers don’t want the government or Parliament to “bow down to them”.

    But at the same time, he added, they will also ensure the self-respect of farmers is protected.

    During their January 26 parade, scores of protesters had stormed the Red Fort, with some of them hoisting religious flags on its ramparts.

    The two leaders condemned Republic Day violence and said it was unacceptable, even though they alleged it was the result of a conspiracy.

    They said the Tricolour was above everything and they will never let anyone disrespect it.

    The Delhi Police has registered nearly 40 cases and made over 80 arrests in connection with the violence and vandalism.

    “The government should release our men and prepare an environment conducive for talks. A respectful solution should be reached. We will never agree to anything under pressure,” Rakesh Tikait asserted.

    Naresh, the elder of the two Tikait brothers and Bharatiya Kisan Union national president, (BKU) told PTI, “Talks are necessary. A solution should be found.”

    ALSO READ | Took political support for farmers’ movement only after democracy was mocked: Rakesh Tikait

    “The middle path could be that the BJP government assures farmers it won’t implement the three laws during its tenure. We will also try convincing the farmers. What else can be better than this?” he suggested.

    “We respect the prime minister’s post. Farmers should be respected too,” he said.

    Naresh and Rakesh are sons of Mahendra Singh Tikait, once counted among the tallest farmer leaders of the country.

    More tents came up at the UP gate protest site in Ghazipur on Sunday and many waited for hours to talk to Rakesh Tikait or click a selfie with him.

    The farmer leader remained busy meeting his supporters and talking to the media, halting only when his voice gave away.

    A Bharatiya Kisan Union member said Rakesh has not been able to sleep for more than three hours a day for the past three days.

    Small groups of farmers took out marches, carrying the Tricolour and shouting slogans.

    Shiromani Akal Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, whose party pulled out of the NDA government over the three farm laws, met Tikait for around 10 minutes.

    Earlier, Congress’ UP president Ajay Kumar Lallu, Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, RLD leader Jayant Chaudhary and Indian National Lok Dal leader Abhay Chautala had visited the protest site to extend support.

    In Baghpat, a ‘sarv khap mahapanchayat’ took place at the Tehsil ground with farmers pouring in from nearby districts as well in tractor-trollies.

    It was the third ‘mahapanchayat’ of farmers in the region after a massive congregation in Muzaffarnagar on Friday and in Mathura on Saturday, both resolving to support the ongoing BKU-led protest.

    BKU leader Rajendra Chaudhary told the crowd, “the movement has to be continued with full strength.”

    ALSO READ | Thousands converge for third ‘mahapanchayat’ in UP, resolve to support stir over farm laws

    The two-month-long protest against the farm laws appeared to be losing steam after widespread violence during a tractor parade by farmers on the Republic Day, but an emotional appeal by Rakesh Tikait gave it a fresh lease of life.

    Delhi’s Singhu border also saw more farmers from Punjab and Haryana joining the protest, even as some complained of poor internet connectivity and difficulties in getting water and food supplies.

    The opposition parties are likely to raise the issue of farm laws vociferously in Parliament and have already stepped up attack on the government.

    Several parties, including the Congress and the SAD, and media bodies on Sunday condemned the police action against two journalists who were picked up during the farmers’ protests at the Singhu border for allegedly misbehaving with police personnel.

    They said such crackdowns impinge on the media’s right to report freely and interferes with its right to freedom of expression.

    Freelance journalist Mandeep Punia and Dharmender Singh (with Online News India) were detained by Delhi Police last evening for allegedly misbehaving with personnel on duty.

    While Singh was later released, the police arrested Punia on Sunday.

    The Indian Women’s Press Corps, Press Club of India and the Press Association demanded Punia’s immediate release and said no journalist should be disturbed while carrying out their duties at any place.

    Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the farmers were deeply hurt by the the BJP’s moves to “defame” them.

    Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar expressed dismay over NCP supremo Sharad Pawar’s tweets criticising the farm laws, saying they were a mix of “ignorance and misinformation” about the legislation, and hoped that the veteran leader will change his stand after knowing the “facts”.

    In a series of tweets, Pawar had on Saturday said the new agriculture laws of the Union government will adversely impact the Minimum Support Price (MSP) procurement and weaken the `Mandi’ system.

    Tomar said Pawar, who is a veteran leader, is also considered well-versed with the issues and solutions relating to agriculture.

    “Pawar himself tried hard to bring the same agriculture reforms earlier.”

    “Since he speaks with some experience and expertise on the issue, it was dismaying to see his tweets employ a mix of ignorance and misinformation on the agriculture reforms. Let me take this opportunity to present some facts,” Tomar said on Twitter and went on to stress that the “apprehensions” expressed by Pawar have no basis.

    Meanwhile, a fresh war of words also erupted between the AAP and the ruling Congress in Punjab, with the former demanding that the state police provide security to the protesting farmers at Delhi borders and Chief Minister Amarinder Singh terming it “arbitrary, absurd and irrational”.

    Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and parts of UP have been protesting at Delhi’s borders for over two months now, demanding a rollback of the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

    The government has offered some concessions including keeping the new farm laws on hold for 1-1.5 years and the Supreme Court has set up a panel to look into the matter while keeping the contentious legislation in abeyance for two months.

    However, the agitating farmer unions have rejected both and intensified their stir.

  • Took political support for farmers’ movement only after democracy was mocked: Rakesh Tikait

    By PTI
    GHAZIABAD: The Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) had not allowed political parties in the movement against new central farm laws but took political support “only after democracy was mocked” at protest sites, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait said Sunday.

    Tikait made the remark as hundreds of farmers reached a key protest site on the Delhi-Meerut highway in Ghazipur on the national capital’s border with Uttar Pradesh where they danced to upbeat tunes, creating a festive atmosphere as more supporters continued to pour in.

    Security measures were strengthened with multi-layer barricading that included iron and concrete structures, while barbed wires also came up on both sides of the highway stretch that has become the BKU’s camping site since November 28 last year in a major farmers’ stir over three new farm laws of the Centre.

    Farmers reached the Ghazipur border from western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand as a turban-clad Rakesh Tikait led the charge for the BKU, the appeal of which coupled with a clarion call from a January 29 “mahapanchayat” of farmers in Muzaffarnagar has re-energised the stir, which was fast losing its sheen and momentum after the Republic Day violence in Delhi.

    In response to a question, Tikait said, “the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) had not allowed political parties to enter the movement because our movement is apolitical. Support from political parties was taken only after democracy was mocked over the protests. But still, politicians are kept away from the stage of farmers’ protest.”

    On Sunday, Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal reached Ghazipur.

    Besides him, regional leaders of Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal, Samajwadi Party also met with BKU office-bearers, extending their support in the fight for their demand for rollback of the new laws.

    “Modi saab nu kisaanan di mann di gal sunni chahidi hai (Prime Minister Narendra Modi should listen to the heart’s talk of the farmers),” said Badal, whose party broke ties from the BJP-led NDA over the contentious laws last year.

    Tikait said the farmer unions are hoping for a resolution of the deadlock through dialogue and if the prime minister wants to talk to the farmers, they will ensure dignity of the PM’s post but also protect their self-interest.

    On if and when will the farmers decide on talking to the government, Tikait said, “I am one of the 40 members of the farmers’ delegation but the decision on talks would be taken by the SKM committee.”

    According to the Ghaziabad administration, senior officials and police officers are regularly monitoring the situation at the Ghazipur border.

    Vehicles proceeding towards and coming from the protest site are being checked while drones were deployed for aerial monitoring at the site, which had thousands of protestors on Sunday, according to officials.

    “The situation is under control and is being regularly monitored,” an officer of the district administration said.

    The groups of farmers camping at the site braving the cold nights were seen dancing to folk tunes and songs eulogising the nation and farmers as some young protesters carried music systems to Ghazipur on their tractor-trollies.

    Thousands of farmers have been protesting at Delhi’s borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, demanding a rollback of the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

    The protesting farmers have expressed the apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big corporations.

    However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring better opportunities to farmers and introduce new technologies in agriculture.

  • Farmers’ stir: Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal meets Rakesh Tikait at Ghazipur border

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday met farmer leader Rakesh Tikait at Ghazipur border and presented him with a ‘siropa’ (robe of honour), as he assured his party’s support to the farmers movement.

    Badal said that Tikait had made the farming community proud by following the footsteps of his father Mahendra Singh Tikait, a towering farmer leader, a party statement said. “He reminisced about the joint battles of Mahendra Singh Tikait and SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal for the welfare of the peasantry,” it said.

    Presented ‘siropa’ & ‘amrit’ from Sri Darbar Sahib, Sri Amritsar Sahib, to Kisan leader #RakeshTikait ji & assured @Akali_Dal_’s complete support. Tikait ji has done farming community proud by following in the footsteps of his father & towering farm leader Ch Mahender Tikait Ji. pic.twitter.com/AJz7HL6f4U
    — Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) January 31, 2021

    The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief also met the families of farmers whose next of kin had been missing since January 26, besides those whose relatives have been incarcerated for “supporting” the farmers’ protest, the statement said.

    Badal assured the families that SAD would take up their cases and ensure appropriate legal remedies were made available to them. He also requested his party’s Delhi unit chief Harmit Singh Kalka to establish a control room in the national capital to ensure that aggrieved families were given assistance as and when required.

    The SAD leader said the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee would also contest all such cases free of cost even as he assured the families that a committee of lawyers had been established in Chandigarh and across all districts in Punjab to ensure a coordinated effort in this direction.

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    He requested all political parties to leave aside petty differences and unite for the greater cause of the peasantry. He said it was now clear that farmers of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh besides those from different parts of the country had formed a united front. “We must strengthen this front further to ensure that the ‘kisan andolan’ is a resounding success,” Badal added.

    Farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and parts of Uttar Pradesh, have been protesting at Delhi borders, demanding a rollback of the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

    The protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big corporations. However, the Centre has maintained that the new laws will bring better opportunities to farmers and introduce new technologies in agriculture.