Will relent only when Centre meets demands, says Tikait

A day before Samyukt Kisan Morcha’s ‘Bharat Bandh’ call on Friday (March 26), Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Rakesh Tikait that if the government did not meet farmers’ demands, their agitation would soon be the biggest and the most historic movement the world had ever seen.

“You (the government) has not heard us for the past four months, even as we braved harsh winter and rain waiting for talks. Now, we are in no hurry as we have become habitual of hardships. The government must be clear, however, that our agitation will not end and we will make it the biggest Kisan Andolan of the world,” said Tikait addressing a Kisan Mahapanchayat, his 10th in the state since January 26.

Tikait hailed farmers for their unity and support saying that they had foiled the government’s bid to divide them on basis of state, religion and region. “The morcha is as united as it was on the first day of the agitation. All 40 leaders will continue taking decisions from the Singhu border,” he added.

Cautioning farmers not to get misled by the government’s covid-19 restrictions, Tikait claimed it will try to end this agitation by imposing curfew and restrictions.

“We will harvest our crops, but the agitation will also continue. The government must withdraw these laws and enact a law to guarantee the Minimum Support Price (MSP). We will not allow the government to suppress this agitation,” he added.

TIKAIT’S FOCUS ON HARYANA

With Thursday’s mahapanchayat, Tikait continued his focus to mobilise support from Jat and Sikh dominated areas of Haryana. “Bade Tikait Sahab Kahte the jab Haryana andolan me khada ho jata hai to sarkare kamp jati hai aur ab Haryana ke saath Punjab, UP, Rajasthan bhi Khada hai is andolan ko koi daba nahi sakta (Elders in my family used to say that once an agitation get going in Haryana, government shiver with fear. Now, we also have other states for company. This movement cannot be suppressed,” he said, amid cheers from the crowd.

“The government should understand that this is a farmers’ agitation and has nothing to do with state, religion or region,” he said.

SEEKS SUPPORTS FROM LABOURERS

Urging shopkeepers and labourers to join the protest, Tikait said the new laws had been enacted to give the entire foodgrain of the country to some corporate houses and they will have monopoly on prices. He slammed the union government for increasing the prices of fuel and LPG and privatisation of government departments and agencies.

Haryana (BKU) president Gurnam Singh Charuni told the gathering that farmers across the country had united against these laws. Charuni also sought support from Haryana’s farmers to make Friday’s Bharat Bandh a success.