BKU decides to join protest

The Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), conspicuous by its absence during the protests against farm laws on Thursday, has decided that it will hit the road at 11 a.m. on Friday in support of the country’s farmers.

In an emergency mahapanchayat held in Muzaffarnagar at the residence of senior leader Rakesh Tikait, it was decided that the BKU will lay indefinite siege to national highways in the region. The main protest is expected on the Delhi-Dehradun highway.

“If the country’s farmers can’t be allowed to enter Delhi, the government could send them to Islamabad,” said Mr. Tikait.

He said the farmers of Uttar Pradesh were hurt by the use of water cannons against the farmers of Haryana and Punjab in cold weather.

Urging the government to roll back the farm laws and make the MSP mandatory by law, Mr. Tikait said, “When the Prime Minister says that the minimum support price would continue, why it can’t be included in the law.”

Dharmendra Malik, the BKU spokesperson, said farmers had been agitated for a long time and it reflected on the roads on Thursday. On the delay in the BKU joining the protest, Mr. Malik said it was not their call but it’s time to express solidarity, and this time farmers would not go home until the government takes back these unjust laws. “Everybody saw without BKU, no farmer protest could be successful in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.