No returning home till laws repealed: Tikait
NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Kisan Union (Tikait) leader Rakesh Tikait gave a new slogan to protesters at Ghazipur on Tuesday “Kanoon wapsi nahi, to ghar wapsi nahi (no returning home, until the laws are repealed)”, and urged them to start preparing to stay till October, November.
Farmers have been protesting at Delhi’s borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh at Ghazipur, Tikri and Singhu against the three farm laws for over two months.
On Tuesday, protesters from Tikri and Singhu reached Ghazipur to present a joint front as the police and local authorities have taken unprecedented measures to contain them at the protest site by putting in place several layers of metal and concrete barriers, fixing iron spikes on the road and building walls of concrete in the aftermath of the violence during the tractor rally on Republic Day.
Tikait said the ongoing stir
against the three new farm laws will continue till the legislations are repealed.
Addressing a huge gathering of protesters at Ghazipur on Tuesday, Tikait said, “When we started the protest at Delhi borders, we thought that the government would resolve the issue before January 26. But it doesn’t look like the government wants to resolve it. We will now have to make a longer strategy. I urge people to start preparing to continue this movement till October and November.”
The Ghazipur protest site--where the Ghaziabad administration served an eviction notice to the protesters last week---was brimming with supporters on Tuesday.
BKU (Ugrahan) chief Joginder Singh, who is a prominent leader of protesters at Tikri border, reached Ghazipur with over 600 farmers on Tuesday. “The government thought that Tikait was alone at Ghazipur and it can get the protest site vacated easily. But Tikait did not let that happen. He, in fact, emerged as the hero of our movement.”
Azad Kisan Samiti (Doaba) leader Harpal Sangha, who had visited Ghazipur protest site from the Singhu border with a large group of people, said, “Ghazipur border has given a new hope to our movement.”
Tikait to attend Jind mahapanchayat today
BKU leader Rakesh Tikait will attend a farmers’ “mahapanchayat” in Haryana’s Jind district on Wednesday to gather support for the agitation against the Centre’s new farm laws. Besides Tikait, several khap leaders will take part in it, Sarv Jatiya Kandela Khap head Tekram Kandela said. It will be a big gathering to muster support for the agitation.