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Tag: Rakesh Tikait

  • After Delhi, BKU leader Rakesh Tikait threatens tractor agitation in Gujarat

    By PTI
    AHMEDABAD: Bhartiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Monday threatened to start a farmers’ tractor agitation in Gujarat after Delhi, and said time has come to gherao the state capital Gandhinagar and also break barricades if needed.

    Talking to reporters outside the Sabarmati Ashram here, Tikait claimed farmers in Gujarat were unhappy and suffering.

    Hundreds of farmers have been camping at Delhi’s borders since November last year against the Centre’s three agriculture reform laws.

    They are demanding a repeal of the three laws along with a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their produce.

    The protesting farmers took out a tractor rally in Delhi on January 26.

    “Farmers will conduct agitation in Gujarat using their tractors. Time has come to gherao Gandhinagar and block roads. If needed, we will have to break barricades too,” Tikait said.

    The BKU leader is on a two-day tour of Gujarat since Sunday to campaign against the Centre’s three farm laws.

    On the second day of his visit, Tikait, accompanied by former Gujarat chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela, paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at the Sabarmati Ashram.

    “Farmers are suffering because there is no agitation here. There is no backing from courts also. Farmers are compelled to say they are happy and making profit. Please give us that technology which is helping Gujarat’s farmers to reap benefits,” said Tikait.

    He claimed farmers of Banaskantha are compelled to sell potatoes for Rs 3 per kilogram.

    “Is that enough to make farmers happy? We have come here to remove fear from the minds of farmers. We will agitate in a peaceful manner,” Tikait said, when asked about his future plans for Gujarat.

    Later, Tikait and Vaghela reached Karamsad town in Anand district and paid tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at his native place.

    Tikait then headed to Bardoli in Surat, where he would address farmers in the evening.

  • ‘Farmers haven’t left protest sites’: Rakesh Tikait’s reminder to Modi government

    By PTI
    AHMEDABAD: Refuting claims that farmers have left protest sites along the Delhi border, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Sunday said they had gone to the fields to work and would return when the Central government was “free from West Bengal elections”.

    Farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, have been protesting at the Delhi border for over 4 months now against the Centre’s three agri marketing laws, and have demanded its repeal along with a legal guarantee on the minimum support price mechanism.

    Tikait, who reached Gujarat to drum up support for the stir, began his two-day visit by praying at the Ambaji Temple in Banaskantha district and then addressing groups in Ambaji and Palanpur.

    At a meeting held in Palanpur, a black flag was shown to Tikait by a youth, following which he was thrashed by supporters of the farmer leader.

    The youth was then taken away by police personnel.

    ALSO READ | Farmers try to gherao union minister Som Parkash in Hoshiarpur, cops foil their attempt

    Later, Tikait said, “Let them show black flags, it does not matter. I have come here to make the people of Gujarat, the media, farmers, and the youth free. Let farmers and the youth join the agitation”.

    Tikait told the gathering that the three laws were enacted to help businessmen and not farmers, and the latter had decided to not move from the protest sites till victory, that is acceptance of all their demands, was achieved.

    “All reports that farmers have left the agitation sites are wrong. Farmers come and go. At present, they have gone to work in their fields. We have told them to come back once the government is free from (West) Bengal elections. The entire government is camping in Bengal. Once the government returns, we will start negotiations with it,” Tikait claimed.

    He said farmers from Gujarat must also join the protest in large numbers so that the country feels confident that cultivators from the state from where some of the big leaders hail, a possible reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, are also against the new laws.

    Exhorting farmers from Gujarat to use tractors to protest, Tikait said these vehicles are the “tanks of farmers” and were put to good use in Delhi to remove police barricades.

    While former Gujarat chief minister Shankarsinh Vaghela accompanied Tikait in his rally from Ambaji to Palanpur, Congress MLA Geniben Thakor welcomed the BKU leader when he entered the state earlier in the day.

    Incidentally, Tikait had taken a swipe at the BJP government in Gujarat earlier in the day by showing his passport to reporters while entering the state after alighting from a train in Abu Road in neighbouring Rajasthan.

    Asked about whether he was carrying a COVID-19 negative certificate, which is mandatory while travelling to Gujarat, Tikait showed his passport and said, “I have all the documents with me. This is my passport if it is required to enter Gujarat”.

    Tikait will visit Sabarmati Ashram on Monday and go to Bardoli on the second day of his Gujarat visit.

    The BJP is “provoking” the youth to indulge in violence and trying to give a “violet twist” to the stir against its three farm laws, alleged BKU national president Naresh Tikait citing the attack on farmer leader Rakesh Tikait’s convoy in Rajasthan’s Alwar recently.

    ALSO READ | Farmer bodies stage stir at FCI offices demanding remunerative MSP for crops

    Police had detained a student leader, whom the Bhartiya Kisan Union claimed belonged to the ABVP, the student wing of the BJP.

    Tikait was not in his car when the convoy was pelted with stones.

    The BJP-led Centre is “providing weapons” to the youth and “provoking” them to indulge in violence, Naresh Tikait said, alleging that the Alwar attack was carried out by ABVP workers.

    We have forgiven them as we don’t want to spoil their career and have asked the Rajasthan government not to take any legal action against them, the BKU leader said during a “Kisan Mahapanchayat” at the Ghazipur protest site.

    The government is trying to give a “violent twist” to the peaceful protest, for which attempts have been made at several times, Tikait alleged, adding that farmers don’t want any confrontation with the government.

    Tikait also said the government did not utter even a single word on the demise of 300 farmers during the course of the agitation.

    Tikait also said MPs and MLAs of the ruling party are facing humiliation in villages as they are unable to respond to farmers’ queries.

  • Arrested ABVP leader’s confession: Attacked Rakesh Tikait’s convoy in Alwar to get publicity

    Express News Service
    JAIPUR: The attack on farmer leader Rakesh Tikait in Alwar on Friday was organised by a student leader of the Akhil Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) to garner publicity. Kuldeep Yadav, a student leader associated with ABVP, currently under arrest for the attack on Tikait’s convoy, has reportedly made this confession during interrogation by the Alwar police.

    Kuldeep Yadav had become the President of the Alwar-based Matsya University in 2019 as an independent candidate. Later he joined the ABVP and senior BJP leaders had attended some of the functions he organised.

    On Friday, Kuldeep Yadav, along with his supporters, showed black flags when the cavalcade of Rakesh Tikait was on its way to Bansur from Harsora village where the BKU supremo had addressed a gathering. This is when 33 people, according to the first information report (FIR), stopped his car on the pretext of welcoming him. Soon stones were pelted at the convoy of Rakesh Tikait, damaging the rear windshield of his car. The violent group reportedly broke the windows of the car with sticks and even threw black ink.

    Sixteen people have so far been arrested on charges of attacking Rakesh Tikait’s convoy in Tatarpur village of Alwar district. An initial probe by the police has also revealed that Kuldeep Yadav even spent around 50,000 rupees to gather the youngsters who joined him in the attack on the BKU leader.

    Soon after the attack, not only Rakesh Tikait but even Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had taken to Twitter to slam the BJP for the attack on the convoy of the BKU supremo.

    Kuldeep Yadav had to resign shortly after he became the President of the Alwar-based Matsya University in 2019 as there were allegations that his BA degree was fake.

    ALSO READ | Attack on my convoy pre-planned by BJP workers: BKU supremo Rakesh Tikait

    Though the BJP denies any links with the arrested student leader, a string of pictures that show Kuldeep Yadav with senior BJP leaders have now gone viral on social media. Among those who are seen with Kuldeep Yadav are state BJP chief, Satish Poonia, MP of Alwar, Baba Balaknath and ABVP state Secretary Hoshiar Meena.

    The additional SP of Alwar Gurusharan Rao remarked, “Kuldeep Yadav is trying to create a political space for himself and he has told us that he hoped to create a special identity for himself by organising this attack on Rakesh Tikait.” He further added, “Yadav had borrowed 3 lakh rupees from his uncle and spent about 50,000 on the youngsters who supported him in organising this attack.” 

  • Attack on my convoy pre-planned by BJP workers: BKU supremo Rakesh Tikait

    By PTI
    ALIGARH: Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait claimed on Saturday that the attack on his convoy of vehicles in Rajasthan’s Alwar was “pre-planned by BJP workers” and said it should serve as a reminder to the farmers protesting against three new agriculture laws of the Centre about the travails and challenges they are going to face in the days to come.

    Addressing a “kisan mahapanchayat” at Bhaimalkheda village in this Uttar Pradesh district, Tikait said such attacks “are, in fact, strengthening our resolve to further intensify our struggle, which is a battle for our existence”.

    Talking to reporters after the “mahapanchayat”, he said, “We are mentally prepared for more such incidents.”

    Stones were allegedly pelted at the convoy of Tikait, an influential farmer leader, in Rajasthan’s Alwar district on Friday, damaging the rear windshield of his car.

    Police had detained a student leader, who the BKU claimed belonged to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and accused the saffron party of being behind the attack.

    Addressing the “mahapanchayat” here, Tikait issued a call to the protesting farmers to be mentally prepared to continue with their agitation at least till the end of the year, when they would taste victory.

    He urged them to be mobile phone savvy so that they can be active on social media.

    Tikait, who held a “mahapanchayat” in Aligarh for the first time after the farmers’ agitation was launched in November last year, alleged that corporates had fully entrenched themselves in the present ruling dispensation, including the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

    He said how else can one explain the construction of huge grain depots and godowns in several parts of the country “even before the controversial farm laws came to existence”.

    The BKU leader said this itself provides conclusive evidence of the government’s intentions.

    He warned the farmers that even more draconian measures are on the anvil as far as the farm laws are concerned, including stringent regulations regarding crop seeds.

    Tikait alleged that under the proposed measures, farmers would be liable to be bound by pernicious terms and conditions, which would place them at the mercy of the seed-selling firms.

    He said the three laws would make it impossible for the farmers to enjoy the right to use the seeds of their choice and frustrate them to such an extent that they would be compelled to sell their land to corporates.

  • Farmers protest at Noida border against ‘attack’ on Rakesh Tikait

    By Express News Service
    NOIDA: Traffic movement was disrupted between Noida and Delhi through a key route on Friday evening after a group of farmers started protesting on the road stretch. The members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) demonstrated against the attack on their leader Rakesh Tikait in Rajasthan earlier on Friday.

    “The Chilla route between Noida and Delhi has been affected due to the demonstration. Commuters can use the DND (Delhi-Noida Direct) flyway or the Kalindi Kunj route for travelling,” a Noida Traffic Police official said.

    Due to the sudden closure of the route, several vehicles piled up on the busy road stretch at the Uttar Pradesh-Delhi border around 8 pm. Stones were allegedly pelted at the convoy Tikait in Alwar district, damaging the rear windshield of his car.

    Police have detained a student leader, who the Bhartiya Kisan Union claimed, belonged to ABVP, the student wing of the BJP, and accused the party of being behind the attack. Tikait, however, was not in his car when the stones were allegedly pelted, Bhiwadi Superintendent of Police Ram Murti Joshi said, adding no one was injured in the incident.

    The incident took place when Tikait’s convoy reached Tatarpur chauraha on its way to his second rally venue, the SP said, adding the farmer leader addressed two rallies in the district on Friday. He said Kuldeep Rai, a student leader of Alwar-based Matsya University, along with his supporters showed black flags when the cavalcade was passing.  “At this, some of the cars stopped and their occupants in the vehicles argued with them over the issue. Amid all this, the windshield of one car was damaged apparently in stone pelting,” the SP said.

  • BKU supremo Rakesh Tikait’s convoy attacked in Alwar, farmer leader blames BJP for attack

    Express News Service
    JAIPUR: Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) supremo Rakesh Tikait’s car was allegedly attacked in Rajasthan’s Alwar on Friday. Stones were allegedly pelted at his convey, damaging the rear windshield.

    The incident reportedly occured in Tatarpur village of Alwar district. Tikait was on his way to Bansur from Harsora village of Alwar when his convoy was attacked. Tikait was going to Bansur after addressing a gathering in Harsora.

    The farmer leader was quick to share the information on Twitter wherein he blamed the BJP for the attack. Tikait tweeted, “Attacked by BJP goons at Tatarpur intersection of Alwar district of Rajasthan, Bansur Road. Death of democracy.” The farm leader even shared a video of a damaged car, saying that the attack was carried out by “BJP goons”.

    Police have detained a student leader, who the Bhartiya Kisan Union claimed, belonged to ABVP, the student wing of the BJP, and accused the party of being behind the attack.

    Tikait, however, was not in his car when the stones were allegedly pelted, Bhiwadi Superintendent of Police Ram Murti Joshi said, adding no one was injured in the incident.

    “At this, some of the cars stopped and their occupants in the vehicles argued with them over the issue. Amid all this, the windshield of one car was damaged apparently in stone pelting,” the SP said.

    BKU’s state president Rajaram Meel, who was accompanying Tikait, alleged that at least 40 to 50 people carrying sticks stopped the convoy and entered into an altercation with them.

    राजस्थान: अलवर में किसान नेता राकेश टिकैत के काफिले पर कुछ लोगों द्वारा कथित तौर पर हमले का मामला सामने आया है।राकेश टिकैत ने बताया, “पुलिस का पिस्टल छीनने की कोशिश की गई। पत्थर मारकर गाड़ी के शीशे तोड़ दिए गए, लाठी चलाई गई।” pic.twitter.com/eqLeYjYyge
    — ANI_HindiNews (@AHindinews) April 2, 2021

    Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot came out in support of the BKU leader and took to Twitter to slam the BJP for the alleged stone-pelting.

    Gehlot tweeted, “The attack on the convoy of  BKU leader Rakesh Tikait in Alwar by BJP folks is condemnable and action will be taken against the culprits. The BJP’s opposition to the farmers’ agitation through irresponsible statements reflects their anti-democratic attitude and is shameful.”

    After the incident, farmers blocked the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh Ghazipur border in protest. Tikait’s supporters blocked National Highway 9, but after a short while, traffic was restored through police intervention.

    Tikait has been spearheading the over four-month-long farmers’ agitation at the Delhi-Ghazipur border, against the three farm laws passed by the Centre last year.

    Last week, he had asserted that agitating farmers were prepared for a long haul and will relent only when their demands are met. Tikait and his supporters want the Centre to withdraw the farm laws and provide a legal guarantee on MSP.

    (With PTI inputs)

  • Gujarat: Eight farm group leaders held for COVID-19 norm violations

    By PTI
    AHMEDABAD: Eight farm group leaders were held on Friday for allegedly flouting COVID-19 norms while addressing a press conference in a restaurant in Ahmedabad in Gujarat, police said.

    Among those held by Chandkheda police was Bharatiya Kisan Union general secretary Yudhvir Singh, an official said.

    “We detained eight persons when they were organising a press conference at a restaurant as they were flouting COVID- 19 guidelines,” DCP (Zone 2) Vijay Patel said.

    Singh said those protesting against the Centre’s farm laws would continue to speak up despite such acts by authorities.

    They were later allowed to go, police added.

    The press conference was organised to announce the visit of Rakesh Tikait to Gujarat next month when police barged in and detained Singh and others,” said Ahmedabad-based activist Dev Desai.

    Criticising the action of Gujarat police, BKU national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait tweeted that his colleague Yudhvir Singh and others were held as the government had started getting nervous about the farm protests.

    “This is the Gujarat model and masses are under the grip and nobody is free. This type of condition prevails nowhere in the country,” Tikait added.

  • Kisan Morcha appeals to citizens to make Bharat Bandh successful; Tikait warns Centre

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a front of protesting farmer unions, on Wednesday appealed to the citizens of the country to make the March 26 Bharat Bandh a complete success.

    According to a statement released by the SKM, farmers have been protesting on the borders of Delhi for the last four months and instead of accepting their demands, the government is discrediting them completely.

    The SKM has called for a Bharat Bandh on Friday.

    On March 26, from 6 am to 6 pm, all road and rail transport, markets and other public places will be closed across the country, it said.

    However, this is not necessary for the places where elections are going to be held, the statement said.

    “We appeal to the people of the country to make this Bharat Bandh a success and honour their ‘Annadata’,” farmer leader Darshan Pal said.

    Farmers organized programmes across the country on Martyrdom Day on Tuesday.

    A torch procession was taken out at Bhatgaon, Sonipat, in Haryana.

    In Ashok Nagar, Madhya Pradesh, young people wrote slogans of “Inquilab Zindabad” with their blood and organised a blood donation camp, the statement said.

    Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Wednesday said the farmers’ agitation will continue till the time the Centres rolls back the farm laws and provides legal guarantee on MSP.

    Referring to cases registered against many farmers in the aftermath of incidents on January 26 in Delhi, Tikait said, “Farmers are not scared of cases. This agitation will continue so long the Centre does not withdraw these laws and till the time a law is framed giving legal guarantee on MSP.”

    “This agitation will go till November-December,” he said, while making it clear that the government should not be mistaken that farmers were going anywhere.

    “The government thinks farmers will return home in summer. Earlier they thought we would go back home in peak winter. But we are not going anywhere, we have installed fans etc there,” he said, addressing a farmers ‘Mahapanchayat’ here.

    Anyone helping farmers in their agitation is facing harassment from government agencies, he alleged.

    Claiming that the farm laws were not in favour of farmers, Tikait said the next target of the Centre is to create such a situation that “farmers will eventually leave their land”.

    “It is their plan to take away your land in the next 20 years,” he added.

    “Their target is to turn farmers into labourers, and once that happens they will get cheap labourers from villages for factories,” Tikait said.

    He also thanked farmers of Haryana and ‘khaps’ (caste council) of the state for supporting this agitation.

    Tikait also called upon the farmers to be ready to move towards Delhi whenever required.

    Hundreds of farmers are camping near Delhi’s borders since November last year demanding that the Centre repeal the three contentious farm laws.

    The farmer leader said that a nationwide movement against the farm laws has started and the youth have a big responsibility now.

    Tikait said the country will be saved when slogans of “Jai Ram” and “Jai Bhim” are raised together.

    Enacted in September 2020, the three farm laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.

    The protesting farmers, on the other hand, have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of the minimum support price and do away with the “mandi” (wholesale market) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

    A meeting was organised at the collectorate chaired by ADM (City) Shailendra Kumar Singh on Wednesday to discuss the upcoming ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by farmers’ unions on March 26, officials said.

    Participation in the countrywide ‘Bharat Bandh’ call given by the farmers’ unions on March 26 against the three farm laws would be optional for the traders, according to a few office-bearers.

    General Secretary of Mahanagar Vyapar Mandal Ashok Chawla told PTI that the association would remain neutral during the ‘Bharat Bandh’.

    No association would force anybody to close their shops or compel them to keep it open as traders are free to take decisions on their own, Chawla added.

    In the meeting, all the problems regarding COVID-19, ‘Bharat Bandh’ and deposition of arms licenses during panchayat elections were discussed, he further said.

  • Farmers observe ‘Shaheed Diwas’; Tikait says will sell produce at Parliament complex

    By PTI
    JAIPUR: Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Tuesday said that farmers, if required, will sell their produce at the Parliament complex as part of their protest against the Centre’s new agri laws.

    Farmers will not be divided, Tikait said while addressing a ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’ in Jaipur’s Vidhyadhar Nagar stadium.

    “If required, farmers will go to Parliament to sell their crops,” he said and called upon them to be ready to move towards Delhi whenever required.

    Hundreds of farmers are camping at Delhi’s borders since November last year demanding that the Centre repeal the three contentious farm laws.

    The farmer leader said that a nationwide movement against the farm laws has started and youths have a big responsibility now.

    Tikait said that the country will be saved when slogans of ‘Jai Ram’ and ‘Jai Bhim’ are raised together.

    However, he cut short his speech as the weather turned bad.

    Earlier, social activist and Samyukt Kisan Morcha leader Yogendra Yadav said that farmers of the country want legal guarantee for minimum support price.

    Enacted in September, the three farm laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.

    The protesting farmers, on the other hand, have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of the minimum support price and do away with the “mandi” (wholesale market) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

    Tikait, on the occasion, also announced appointment of Jat leader Rajaram Meel as the state president of Bharatiya Kisan Union and Jhabar Singh as national secretary.

    Meanwhile, to mark ‘Shaheed Diwas’, thousands of youth from different parts of the country on Tuesday took over the protest sites at Delhi’s borders, demonstrating their role in shaping the future of the country.

    According to a statement issued by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), thousands of youth had started arriving at the three protest sites since Monday.

    There were also three ‘padyatras’, which culminated in the youth joining the protest sites in Delhi.

    Hundreds of farmers are camping at Delhi’s borders points at Ghazipur, Singhu and Tikri since November last year demanding that the Centre repeal the three contentious farm laws.

    March 23 is observed as ”Shaheed Diwas” to pay tribute to Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru who were executed by the British government for killing British police officer J P Saunders.

    The trio wanted to avenge the death of freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai.

    The day-long commemoration of ‘Shaheed Diwas’ at Singhu saw conferences being organised where over 60 youth activists addressed the farmers, while extending their support to the movement.

    “Speakers described the current regime as anti-farmer and anti-worker,” the SKM statement noted.

    The event also saw participation by young women, who “challenged the government in sharp words”.

    “Women leaders from Haryana said that the dreams that Shaheed Bhagat Singh had dreamt of remain unfulfilled. Another speaker reminded us that Bhagat Singh had warned us that the country would not get freedom only by the British leaving the country; that this country would be truly independent only when the exploitation of farmers and labourers ends,” the SKM statement said.

    They also presented Bhagat Singh’s views on the international conspiracy of exploitation of farmers and labourers, it added.

    Similar events were organised at the Tikri border, where in large numbers, members of the Kisan Mazdoor families questioned the government on the lack of education and employment opportunities for the youth.

    Speaking in solidarity with the farmers’ movement, the youth said they would not go back without securing the demands of the protests.

    Soil was collected from historical places associated with the martyrs, like Sunam, Khatkad Kalan, Shri Anandpur Sahib, Shri Fatehgarh Sahib, Sarabha, Jallianwala Bagh, Hussainiwala, Shri Chamkaur Sahib and brought to the Singhu and Tikri borders, the SKM statement said.

    At the Ghazipur border too, young men and women, especially from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, pledged to make the farmers’ movement successful by “following the ideas of Bhagat Singh”.

    According to the SKM, ‘Shaheed Diwas’ was also observed in other parts of the country, including Gujarat, Hyderabad and Jaipur.

    “A mega rally was organised in the memory of martyrs in Khatkad Kalan, the village of Shaheed Bhagat Singh. Speaking at the rally, the youth said that whenever the country is hit by a crisis, the youth of Punjab will fight for human rights by sacrificing everything,” it said.

    The Kanpur Dehat District Unit of the All India Kisan Khet Mazdoor Sangathan also organised a motorcycle march on the occasion of the martyrdom day of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev on the SKM’s call.

    On March 30, farmers of the Narmada Valley will also participate in the ‘Mitti Satyagraha Yatra’ from Dandi in Gujarat, and the soil of the valley will be taken to the protest sites in Delhi, the statement said.

  • Protests against agri laws: BKU leader Rakesh Tikait to address Kisan Mahapanchayat in Jaipur

    By PTI
    JAIPUR: Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait will address a Kisan Mahapanchayat in Jaipur on Tuesday.

    The mahapanchayat will be held at Vidhyadhar Nagar stadium, Raja Ram Meel, president of the Jat Mahasabha, said.

    “It will be the first meeting of Tikait in Jaipur. Earlier, he has held a few meetings in other districts like Hanumangarh and Ganganagar,” Meel told reporters.

    “Farmers have understood that the Modi government has cheated them and is trying to weaken farmers. The government is planning to hand over the agriculture sector to industrialists and farmers have understood this thing. Therefore, there are countrywide protests against the farm laws,” he said.

    Meel said the BJP will suffer huge losses in elections, including the bypolls on three assembly seats in Rajasthan next month, over the farmers’ issue.