At mahapanchayats, call for each family to 'give' one person for protests

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Title

At mahapanchayats, call for each family to 'give' one person for protests

Description

ROORKEE/MATHURA: Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leaders, who addressed thousands at two mahapanchayats in Mathura and Roorkee on Wednesday afternoon, virtually asked each farmer family to send one person to protest sites in and around Delhi. Giving out this call, the mahapanchayat at Mathura said about 5,000 people from Mathura alone are likely to reach the Ghazipur border in the next two days. Echoing the same sentiment and terming the laws brought by the Central government “death warrants” for farmers of the country, BKU chief Naresh Tikait said in Roorkee that people will not sit at home till the Acts are repealed. “We are very clear on it…that till the farm laws are not repealed we will not withdraw from our protest. This time, a strong movement of farmers is being built. We are going among farmers day after day asking them to join the agitation,” Tikait said, adding that the protests will be peaceful even in the face of the gravest provocation. “We farmers are essentially non-violent people. We will continue to protest in a peaceful manner. And even if the government resorts to firing, we will respond to them without violence,” Tikait told farmers at Gud Mandi, about 9-km from Roorkee city. About 300km away in Mathura, his son and BKU’s youth wing president Guarav Tikait addressed an even bigger crowd and said, “Bill wapasi nahi to ghar vapasi nahi (No one will go back home till the farm laws are repealed).” BKU’s district president Raj Kumar Tomar said, “Movement to Ghazipur border will not be in groups now. Police are not allowing farmers to join protests at the border and have barricaded the routes. Individuals will go to the border on their own now.”

Publisher

The Times of India

Date

2021-02-04

Coverage

Dehradun