Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said on Tuesday that farmers affected by the Centre’s agriculture sector laws would once again march to Delhi and sell their crops outside Parliament.
“Last time, 3.50 lakh tractors entered Delhi on Republic Day. We will do this again,” he said.
Addressing a Kisan Mahapanchayat at Vidyadhar Nagar Stadium here, Mr. Tikait said the government had told the farmers that they could sell their crops anywhere, under the new farm laws. “We will sell our produce outside the State Assemblies, Collector’s offices and Parliament.... No mandi can be better than the Parliament,” Mr. Tikait said in the presence of Swaraj Abhiyan’s Yogendra Yadav and Bhim Army’s Chandrashekhar Azad.
He called upon the farmers to lay siege to Delhi from all directions. The farmers would observe a day’s bandh on March 26 all over the country to protest against the farm laws.
The BKU leader said while the government was trying to divide the country on the lines of caste, creed and religion, the farmers would defeat its designs and show unity to get their rights. The cultivators were faced with a situation where big companies had already built their warehouses and the laws were subsequently being enacted to protect their interests, he said. The rally, organised under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha, received support from a large number of organisations, including the CPI, CPI(M), Rajasthan Jat Mahasabha, Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind. This was the first major event of Samyukta Kisan Morcha in the State Capital, after the mahapanchayats in several districts of Rajasthan.
Sudden rains and strong winds uprooted the tents at the rally and led to commotion. One person was injured when a pipe of the tent fell on him. The thin attendance at the rally, attributed to bad weather conditions, left the organisers disappointed.
The farmer leaders paid homage to Bhagat Singh on his death anniversary. An announcement was made on the appointment of Jat Mahasabha president Raja Ram Meel as BKU’s State unit president and K.C. Ghumaria as general secretary.
