NEW DELHI: Farm leaders on Sunday continued their agitation against the three new farm laws asserting that their movement has been a victim of a conspiracy. Farm leaders Rakesh Tikait and his brother Naresh Tikait are now leading the front from Ghazipur border which seems to have become the epicentre of the protests post-Republic Day violence.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast referred to the Red Fort incident, saying the country was much pained at seeing the dishonour to the tricolour on Republic Day.
Will honour PM’s dignity, but also protect farmers’ self-respect: Naresh Tikait
Farmer leader Naresh Tikait on Sunday said that protesting farmers will honour the dignity of the Prime Minister, but are also committed to protecting their own self-respect. He said 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,” he told PTI at the Ghazipur border between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
“We will honour and respect the dignity of the Prime Minister. Farmers don’t want that the government or Parliament bows down to them,” Tikait said.
Tikait said, “The violence on January 26 was part of a conspiracy. The Tricolor is over and above everything. We will never let anyone disrespect it. It will not be tolerated,” he said.
Naresh Tikait is the elder brother of Rakesh Tikait, the farmer leader who is the national spokesperson of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU).
Country was very pained at dishonour to Tricolour: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the country was very pained at seeing the dishonour to the Tricolour on Republic Day, referring to the religious flag incident at the Red Fort during the farmers’ tractor parade.
In his monthly Mann ki Baat radio broadcast, Modi also said the government is committed to modernising agriculture and is taking many steps in this regard.
“In Delhi, on January 26, the country was very pained seeing the dishonour to the Tricolour,” he said.
Thousands of protesting farmers had breached the monument on January 26 after deviating from their tractor rally route triggering a conflict with the police. A section of protesting farmers hoisted flags from some domes of the iconic monument in the national capital.
Protest continues amid tight security and internet suspension
Heightened security deployment has continued at the Singhu border (Delhi-Haryana border) as farmers’ protest against three agriculture laws entered the 67th day on Sunday. The next round of talks between the farmers and the Centre is scheduled for February 2.
While the protest at Ghazipur border by the farmers (Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border) has entered Day 65. Security has been beefed up as more farmers are coming to the protest site for the past two-three days.
To ‘maintain public safety and averting public emergency’, the Union Home Ministry has temporarily suspended internet services at the three borders and their adjoining areas from 11 pm of January 29 to 11 pm of January 31.
The Haryana government has also extended the suspension of internet services in 17 districts till 5 pm on January 31. The Delhi Police has also closed the NH-24 route.
Government’s offer still stands: PM Modi
During all party-meeting on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated that the proposal of government given to farmers on January 22 still stands and should be communicated to all by the leaders of the political parties.
PM Modi has also said that Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar was just a phone call away for protestors.
On January 22, during the 11th round of talks with protesting farmers, the government proposed to suspend the new legislations for one-and-a-half years and also proposed to set up a joint committee to discuss the Acts.
The tension between the government and farmers protesting the farm laws has escalated after the violence which broke out in various parts of the national capital during the farmers’ tractor rally on Republic Day.
R-day violence, Tikait’s emotive appeal and swelling number of farmers at Ghazipur
The two-month movement against the Centre’s three farm laws was till now dominated by protesters from the fields of Punjab and Haryana who set up camp at the Singhu and Tikri border points.
Now, the focus has shifted to Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border where farmers are gathering in thousands.
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.
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, said Rakesh and even threatened to end his life for the cause. His call for continuing the protest against the government struck a deep emotional chord.
It led to his brother Naresh Tikait calling a maha panchayat at their home town in Muzaffarnagar on Friday where tens of thousands of farmers gathered to back the movement.
The crowd at Ghazipur border that had reduced to 500 on Thursday night grew manifold over the next 12 hours, running into well over 5,000 in next 24 hours. The farmer movement was not just revived but further energised.
Who is Rakesh Tikait and Naresh Tikait?
Born on June 4, 1969, in Sisauli village of Muzaffarnagar district in western Uttar Pradesh, Rakesh Tikait joined Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) after quitting the Delhi Police and gained prominence as a farm leader after the death of his father to cancer in May 2011.
Rakesh Tikait, a BA graduate from the Meerut University, was designated national spokesperson of the BKU. He has two younger brothers — Surendra, who works as a manager in a sugar mill, and Narendra, engaged in agriculture.
The father of two daughters and a son — has been at loggerheads with various governments on a range of farmers’ issues, including loan waivers, minimum support price (MSP), power tariff and land acquisition in states such as UP, Haryana Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh.
He also tried his hand at elections but lost both times.
In 2007, he contested the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls from Khatauli constituency in Muzaffarnagar as an independent candidate. In 2014, he fought the Lok Sabha election from Amroha district on a Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) ticket.
It’s an affluent family.
Ahead of the 2014 polls, Tikait had declared assets worth Rs 4.25 crore, including Rs 10 lakh cash, and liabilities of Rs 10.95 lakh with land worth over Rs 3 crore forming the biggest chunk of his assets.
He also declared three criminal cases against him in the election affidavit. These cases were lodged in Meerut and Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh and Anuppur in Madhya Pradesh.
The vocal farmer leader had to spend nights behind the bars for defying public servant’s orders during several of the protests that he has led in the past decade.
(With inputs from agencies)