News Analysis India

Tag: Rakesh Tikait

  • ‘Farmers’ protests’ may continue till December’: Tikait’s fresh warning to Modi government

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The Bhartiya Kisan Union-led farmer agitation against the three central farm laws may continue till December this year, the outfit national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait said here on Sunday. 

    Tikait made the statement while talking to reporters after his recent visit to the poll-bund West Bengal.  

    “This agitation possibly will stretch up to November or December this year,” he said.

    Talking about his Bengal visit, Tikait said during their poll campaigning there, the Centre has been asking farmers to give them one feastful of rice.

    “I have advised Bengal farmers to ask grain seekers to fix an MSP of Rs 1,850 per quintal for paddy before giving them a single grain of rice,” Tikait said.

    The farmer leader said he was not going to sit in Delhi alone but was planning to visit all over the country, including Madhya Pradesh on March 14 and 15, Ganga Nagar in Rajasthan on March 17, Ghazipur’s UP Gate border in Delhi on March 18, Odisha on March 19 and Karnataka on March 21 and 22.

    He said after Bengal, he was planning to visit other parts of the country to press for the enactment of a law guaranteeing an MSP for various crops.

    ALSO READ | ‘Businessmen running Union government’: Rakesh Tikait hits out at Centre over farm laws

    “In Bihar, the paddy is currently being bought by traders at an abysmally low rate of Rs 750 to Rs 800 per quintal. I want a law guaranteeing the minimum support price for various crops,” said the farmer leader.

    During his visit in Allahabad, Tikait also garlanded a statue of his late father and farmer leader Mahendra Singh Tikait at Tikait Park in Jhalwa near here.

    The BKU spokesperson claimed the three central laws will lead to the closure of all small-time neighbourhood shops, leaving only big commercial malls to survive.

    “These farm laws will ruin traders and lead to the closure of small business utilities and the collapse of small industries. These laws will bring in big multinational firms like Wallmart,” claimed Tikait.

    “Had this government belonged to a political party, it would have talked to farmers and resolved the matter,” Tikait said.

    “But this government is being run by big business houses. It is bent upon selling the entire country,” he alleged.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • ‘Businessmen running Union government’: Rakesh Tikait hits out at Centre over farm laws

    By PTI
    REWA: Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh SinghTikait on Sunday said the Union government was being run by businessman who were cashing in on hunger by snatching away land.

    He was addressing a farmers’ rally in Rewa against the Centre’s three agri marketing laws.

    “A new business to cash in on hunger has started. Humans get hungry two times a day, 700 times a year. When the food grains will be in their control, they will start the hunger business,” Tikait said.ALSO READ | Tractors will again enter Delhi, new mandi will be opened in parliament: Rakesh Tikait

    He said in places in Rajasthan and Haryana, land was being bought by businessmen for paltry sums, and massive godowns, with storage capacities of 14 lakh metric tons, had come up, after which the Centre’s new farm laws came in.

    “This means this government at the Centre is not run by a party, but by businessmen. It is not only farmers who are in trouble, the railways are being sold, but the opposition is weak, and young people who should have opposed such moves are sleeping,” Tikait claimed.

    He asked people to come out and protest at the district level to get the new laws repealed, adding that farmers must sit at the collectorate and ensure their wheat is sold at Rs 1,975 per quintal.

    Tikait is scheduled to address a farmers’ rally in Jabalpur on Monday.

  • Tractors will again enter Delhi, new mandi will be opened in parliament: Rakesh Tikait

    By ANI
    MEDINIPUR: Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Saturday said in Nandigram that tractors will again enter Delhi the day a decision is taken by Samyukt Kisan Morcha and “a new mandi will be opened in Parliament”.

    Talking to reporters at Nandigram, which is a key battleground in the West Bengal elections, Tikait accused the BJP-led government of working in the interest of corporates.

    “The day Samyukt Morcha decides, a new mandi will be opened at Parliament. The crops will be sold at the minimum support price (MSP). Tractors will again enter Delhi. The 3.5 lakh tractors and 25 lakhs farmers are the same. The next target will be to sell crops at Parliament,” he said.

    “Are tractors to be brought on hire? Tractors are the same, the men are the same. The day Samyukt Morcha decides, a new mandi will be opened. The next target will be parliament. Delhi should listen with ears open. Who will stop tractors?” he asked.

    READ|Bengal polls: Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait visits Nandigram, urges people not to vote for BJP

    Tikait said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stated farmers can sell their crops anywhere.

    “I feel the mandi in parliament is the best. The farmer is outside and trader is outside, there will be purchase definitely,” he said.

    Tikait had earlier appealed to voters of Nandigram not to vote for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the assembly polls.

    The Samyukta Kisan Morcha held a ‘mahapanchayat’ in Kolkata against the three new farm laws enacted by the Centre.

    Delhi had witnessed violence during the tractor parade on the call of farmer unions on January 26. Tractors had entered the national capital violating the agreement on the route of the tractor march.

    Nandigram will witness the most high-profile contest of West Bengal elections with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee taking on her former ministerial colleague Suvendu Adhikari, who had joined BJP in December last year.

    Adhikari had earlier said that BJP will defeat Banerjee by over 50,000 votes from Nandigram.

    Elections to the West Bengal assembly will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 to April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

    Farmers have been protesting at different borders of the national capital since November 26 last year against the three newly enacted farm laws — 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.

  • Will go to Kolkata, urge farmers to defeat BJP in polls, says Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait

    By PTI
    BALLIA: Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Wednesday said he will go to Kolkata this week to urge farmers to defeat the BJP in the West Bengal Assembly elections, but claimed he is not supporting any political party.

    Farmers are distressed, and election will be discussed with them, Tikait said, adding that he is not going to West Bengal to seek votes.

    “I will go to Kolkata on March 13. The clarion call for a decisive struggle will come from Kolkata. We will talk to farmers there and urge them to defeat the BJP,” the BKU leader said.

    He was in Ballia to address a ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’.

    Replying to a query if he would meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Tikait said there was no such programme.

    The farmer leader said a call has already been made to defeat the BJP in the five Assembly elections scheduled to begin from March 27, but asserted that he would not support any political party.

    Besides West Bengal, Assembly elections are going to be held in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

    Counting of votes will take place on May 2.

    ALSO READ: Farmers ready to continue protest on Delhi borders till Modi government lasts, says Narendra Tikait

    Tikait said the farmers’ movement would continue and that he is ready to negotiate with the central government.

    “If the Indian government talks, we will talk,” he added.

    Replying to a question, the farmer leader said he had no intention to contest elections.

    Addressing another farmers’ gathering in Rasda, Tikait said a long fight will be fought and success will be achieved.

    Earlier, at a ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’ in Sikandarpur, about 32 km from the district headquarters earlier, the farmer leader launched a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi government.

    Without taking any names, he said “robbers” have to be driven out of Delhi.

    In an apparent reference to the prime minister, he said, “He will prove to be the last emperor.”

    Taking potshots at the ruling BJP, Tikait said he too belonged to Ayodhya and he is also a descendant of Lord Rama.

    He stressed that there is no need to divide the farmers’ movement on regional lines.

    Stating that political parties too have now started organising Kisan Panchayats, Tikait said 2021 would be the year of the movement.

    The echo of the farmers’ movement in India is being heard across the world, he added.

    Giving a call to intensify the farmers’ struggle, which he said is a symbol of their self-respect, Tikait warned that if the farmers are defeated, labourers and youth will also be defeated.

    Stressing that the fight has to be organised with full force, he asked the farmers to mend their tractor and trolleys and be prepared.

    He said the call to leave for Delhi could be given any day.

    He also called for giving a boost to the movement in neighbouring Bihar.

  • Farm laws: Rakesh Tikait to hold rally in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur on Monday

    By PTI
    BHOPAL: Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Singh Tikait will address three rallies in Madhya Pradesh from Monday to drum up support for his protest against the Centre’s three agri marketing laws, a functionary of his outfit said.

    The rallies will be held in Sheopur on Monday, in Rewa on March 14 and in Jabalpur the next day, and a decision would be taken later on holding more rallies in the state, said BKU MP general secretary Anil Yadav.

    Yadav told PTI Tikait will be touring MP, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Telangana to interact with farmers and widen the protests against the Centre’s new laws.

    Incidentally, there is an arrest warrant pending against Tikait in connection with a 2012 attempt to murder and rioting case in the state’s Anuppur district, said police officials.

    Tikait had led a BKU protest against a power plant in Jaithari area, which turned violent, leading to injuries to policemen and torching of vehicles, they added.

    Over 100 people, including Tikait, were arrested under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with armed weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC, an official said.

    “However, after being released on bail in 2012, Tikait failed to appear before court for subsequent hearings, after which an arrest warrant was issued against him in 2016. We will take necessary action on the arrest warrant,” Anuppur Superintendent of Police Mangilal Solanki said.

  • Farmers agitation will continue till three agri laws are withdrawn: Rakesh Tikait

    By PTI
    MUZAFFARNAGAR: Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait has said their agitation will continue till the three contentious agriculture laws are withdrawn.

    He was speaking in Ramrajn town here to mark the completion of 100 days of farmers’ protests at the Delhi borders against the central farm legislations.

    The farmers are demanding a complete withdrawal of the three farm laws and the agitation will continue till the government meets our demands, Tikiat said on Saturday.

    On the occasion, he flagged off a tractors’ rally, which, he said, will travel across across districts of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and will reach farmers’ protest site in Ghazipur on March 27.

    Meanwhile, Union minister and Member of Parliament from Muzaffarnagar Sanjeev Balyan said the three agri laws will be beneficial for the farmers.

    If a single farmer’s land is taken away due to the farm laws, I will resign as an MP.

    The laws were enacted in accordance with the wishes of the farmers, he said.

    Thousands of farmers have been protesting since late November 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 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 government has maintained that the new laws will bring better opportunities to farmers and introduce new technologies in agriculture.

  • Rakesh Tikait asserts farmer protest to continue for long

    By ANI
    GHAZIPUR: Amid the ongoing protest against the new farm laws, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Thursday said the agitation will continue for long.

    “We will continue our protest until the government agrees to talk to the committee. We are here for long,” said Tikait.

    “There must be a minimum and maximum rate for crops in the country,” he added.

    While the Assembly polls of the legislative assemblies of four states — West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam — will start from May, farmers will also participate in the political rallies said Tikait.

    Farmers have been protesting on the different borders of the national capital since November 26 against the three newly enacted farm laws – 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. 

  • Centre’s silence indicates it is planning steps against farmers’ protest: BKU leader Rakesh Tikait

    By PTI
    BIJNOR: BKU leader Rakesh Tikait has claimed that the Centre’s “silence” for the past few days indicates that it is planning some steps against the farmers’ agitation over newly enacted agriculture laws.

    He also stressed that it is the government that will have to come forward with a proposal for talks to resume with the protesting farmers.

    Before leaving for Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar on Sunday night, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader told reporters in Bijnor’s Afzalgarh, “The government’s silence for the past 15-20 days is indicating that something is going to happen. The government is planning some steps against the agitation.”

    However, Tikait said farmers will not step back till a solution is found.

    “The farmer is also ready. He will look after his crop as well as the agitation. Let the government hold talks when it has the time,” he said.

    Tikait also said farmers’ “mahapanchayats” will be held at several places in the country till March 24.

    When asked about the violence during a tractor parade on the Republic Day in New Delhi, he alleged that the government created the trouble.

    On the issue of farmers destroying their standing crop at different places, Tikait said the BKU has told farmers that the time for such action has not come yet.

    “But why is the government not appealing to farmers not to take such a step,” he asked.

    Tikait said farmers will intensify their agitation if the wheat crop is not sold on the minimum support price (MSP) in Uttar Pradesh and they will hold dharnas outside district headquarters across the state.

  • Farmer protests: BKU leader Rakesh Tikait to hold Kisan Mahapanchayat in UP’s Saharanpur

    By ANI
    SAHARANPUR: Amid the ongoing framers’ protest at Delhi borders against the three Central agricultural laws, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait will hold a Kisan Mahapanchayat at Lakhnaur in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.

    According to sources, all preparations for the Kisan Mahapanchayat have been completed. Reportedly, in order to mobilise the historical crowd in Panchayat, BKU leaders were visiting villages and talking to farmers for the last several days.

    A company of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and personnel from at least four police stations have been deployed to maintain law and order in the state, said sources.

    Police will also monitor the speeches of Kisan Mahapanchayat, they added.

    Tikait would be attending farmers’ meetings planned across Haryana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to garner support for the ongoing stir against the new farm laws.

    Farmers have been protesting on the different borders of the national capital since November 26 against the three newly enacted farm laws – 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. 

  • Rakesh Tikait to tour five states in March to drum up support for farmers’ protest

    By PTI
    GHAZIABAD: Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait will be touring five states in March to drum up support for the ongoing farmers’ protest against Centre’s new agriculture laws, a Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) office-bearer said on Saturday.

    Tikait, the national spokesperson of the BKU and a prominent face of the farmers’ protest, will begin the tour from March 1, the office-bearer said.

    “Farmers’ meetings will be held in Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, while two meetings will also be held in Uttar Pradesh in March,” BKU media in-charge Dharmendra Malik said.

    Two meetings will be held in Rajasthan and three in Madhya Pradesh.

    The last three meetings will be held on March 20, 21 and 22 in Karnataka, Malik said.

    “One event is scheduled on March 6 in Telangana, but we have not got permission for it yet due to some election in the state. If permission is granted, the meeting in Telangana will be held as per schedule,” he told PTI.

    Thousands of farmers are camping at Delhi’s border points at Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur since November with a demand that the Centre should repeal the contentious farm laws enacted in September last year and frame a new one guaranteeing the minimum support price (MSP) on crops.

    Tikait is leading the protest at Ghazipur.

    The government, which has held 11 rounds of formal talks with the protesting farm unions, maintains that the laws are pro-farmer.