Farmers Movement Archive

3lakh to join protest at Ghazipur: BKU

Meerut/Agra/Bareilly: BKU leader Rakesh Tikait’s emotional outburst before a waning crowd of protesters turned around the fate of the farmers’ stir at Ghazipur within 24 hours as thousands of people streamed into the border point by Friday evening; many more were on the way from western Uttar Pradesh districts. The farmers’ outfit claimed that about three lakh people are expected to reach Ghazipur by Saturday evening.“Now it’s a matter of prestige,” a prominent farmer leader said. Long queues of tractors were seen emerging from villages of Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Bijnor, Bareilly, Pilibhit, Mathura and Agra. Even farmers associated with two unions-- Bharatiya Kisan Union (Bhanu) and Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan -- which had withdrawn from the agitation after January 26 violence in Delhi were seen heading to the Delhi border.In Muzaffarnagar, at a ‘mahapanchayat’ called by BKU, the outfit’s chief Naresh Tikait said that the stir against the three farm laws will continue. He asked farmers to reach the Ghazipur border in good numbers.The leader of a powerful khap, Surender Singh, said that Rakesh Tikait’s tears “will turn into a ‘jan sailaab’ (deluge) and flow on the roads only to stop at Ghazipur border.”“We are united. Let them (the government) use lathis and bullets. We are ready. I don’t know how many farmers cried and did not sleep the entire night. Even my granddaughter wept seeing their plight. Our panchayat system doesn’t have a place for oppression. Thousands of farmers are ready to leave for Ghazipur. I am also going,” the Chaurasi Desh Khap leader said.His sentiments echoed at scores of panchayats held in the region. According to sources, at least 50 small and big panchayats were held in the Agra region alone.BKU chief of Agra region, Gajendra Singh Parihar, said, “About 10,000 people from across the Agra region reached Ghazipur border by Friday afternoon. Hundreds of batches of farmers are on their way. They will reach the protest site in the next few hours. Three lakh people will be at Ghazipur border by Saturday evening.”State police was on its toes on Friday. Check posts on district borders were manned by a large number of cops, mostly in anti-riot gears.Heavy police deployment was seen at all sensitive border areas in Ghaziabad, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Bijnor, Meerut, Shamli and Muzaffarnagar. Bijnor’s superintendent of police (SP) Dharam Veer Singh called the protest site at Ghazipur border “illegal”. “The protest site at Ghazipur has been declared illegal. If farmers try to reach there, strict action will be taken against them. Borders have been sealed and checking is being conducted at police stations and outposts,” the Bijnor SP said.

The Times of India

2021-01-30

Meerut