Rakesh Tikait
NOIDA: The Bharatiya Kisan Union-Lokshakti, one of the outfits that had approached the Supreme Court against the farm laws, has joined the protest at Ghazipur, with the members saying they will not let political representatives “beat up” the agitators.
The outfit members had been protesting at Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida for the past two months. But they vacated the place on Thursday night and around 250 of them have reached Ghazipur to join the protesters there. According to the farmers, they were upset after BKU-Tikait leader Rakesh Tikait burst into tears at Ghazipur on Thursday night.
BKU-Lokshakti national president Shyoraj Singh said: “I have directed our supporters to reach Ghazipur and those near Muzaffarnagar should reach the mahapanchayat being held there. BJP goons were at Ghazipur. They wanted to threaten and beat up farmers. Loni MLA Nand Kishore Gurjar disturbed the atmosphere, which saddened Rakesh Tikait. If the local administration takes acti
After the Republic Day tractor parade violence, the agitation seemed as good as over with cases filed against farmer leaders and several protest sites, like the one at Chilla border and another on the Delhi-Agra highway in Palwal, folding up. Tikait is seen to have almost single-handedly turned the course with his combativeness, becoming a talking point much beyond his sphere of influence, in villages of Haryana and Punjab.
On Thursday, when police staged a flag march and the Ghaziabad administration served the eviction notice to him, Tikait himself had seemed demoralised. The mood at UP Gate was one of defeat and dejection as police prepared to clear the site. The tide began turning after Tikait grabbed the mike when administration officials came to speak to him and gave an emotionally charged speech. “I will commit suicide. We will stay put and will not leave the spot,” he said. “Attempts are being made by BJP to end the movement, but it will not end. These famers are my re