Farmers Movement Archive

Union govt being run by corporates: Tikait at Sirsa mahapanchayat

Scores of farmers attended a mahapanchayat by violating Section 144 imposed by the local administration in Sirsa on Saturday demanding release of five farmers who were arrested on sedition charges in early morning raids on Thursday for allegedly attacking Haryana deputy speaker Ranbir Gangwa on July 11.Police had used heavy barricades to stop farmers from reaching Shahid Bhagat Stadium but farmers managed to reach the mahapanchayat venue by removing barricades.The Sirsa administration had deployed massive paramilitary troops along with the Haryana Police to stop the protesters.Addressing the mahapanchayat, BKU spokesman Rakesh Tikait alleged that the Union government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is being run by ‘corporates’.“Some BJP workers have the misconception that their party is in power at the Centre. The Modi government is being run by big corporate. That’s why they have failed to hold a dialogue with farmers protesting against Centre’s three farm laws. If any other party had been in power, they could hold a meeting with farmers to end the deadlock,” Tikait added.Tikait said BJP stalwarts like LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi are confined in a “jail” and are not allowed to speak.“Leaders who had been raising voices of people when they were in Opposition are not allowed to speak when their party is in power. The government wants to shift the farm agitation from Delhi borders to Haryana-Punjab borders. That’s why the BJP leaders are provoking farmers in these areas,” Tikait said.Reacting sharply to more than 100 farmers being booked on sedition charges, Tikait said the Supreme Court has questioned the relevance of sedition law, terming it ‘colonial’. “But the Haryana government has imposed the colonial law on farmers to stop the dissent voice,” he added.“We will hold a mahapanchayat in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut on September 5 to launch a mission against BJP in UP, Uttarakhand and Punjab, where assembly polls are due,” he added.In the afternoon, a 20-member committee of farmers met officials of the Sirsa administration to discuss the release of arrested farmers. The meeting ended without any result.

Hindustan Times

18-07-2021

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