WILL HOLD PANCHAYATS ACROSS INDIA, SAYS TIKAIT

ROHTAK: Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Tuesday said he will hold panchayats in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat and other parts of the country to garner support for the ongoing farmers’ agitation.

Addressing a gathering in Sampla, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of peasant leader Chhotu Ram, Tikait said, “The people of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are standing together. Farmers in West Bengal are also not getting minimum support price (MSP) for their crops. We will visit every part of the country. The godowns were built before we were given a legal guarantee of MSP,” he said.

Rail roko stir on February 18

“The policies related to agriculture have been formed by those sitting in Delhi. The farmers of Haryana and Punjab are getting better prices for their crops because Chhotu Ram brought the mandi system and the government is attempting to end it,” Tikait said, adding that they were prepared to hold a nationwide rail roko stir on February 18. “Most trains have been stopped due to the governments’ poor decisions, the remaining few that are running will be stopped on February 18. The government is not plying trains as it is afraid that more people will join our stir,” he said.

“There are 19 ministers who look after agriculture-related issues but there is no agriculture ministry in the country. The government should setup a cabinet to look after these issues. Farmers are under debt due to the governments’ wrong policies,” he said.

“We will not return home until the barricades and iron spikes placed on Delhi’s borders are removed and our demands are met,” he added.