Farmers Movement Archive

‘Tikait a dacoit’: BJP MP says protesters are not farmers

A Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker on Sunday called farmer leader Rakesh Tikait a ‘dacoit’ and said that the protesting farmers are receiving funds from foreign donors to continue the agitation at Delhi’s borders.Lok Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich constituency, Akshaibar Lal Gond also said that the motivation for the protests come from people who associate with ‘Pakistan and Sikhistan’.“Tikait is a dacoit. There is no agitation by farmers. The protesters are not farmers, they are people from political parties who are motivated by 'Sikhistan' and Pakistan,” Gond was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.Gond said money to fund the protests is coming from Canada and is intended to fund terrorist activities. “Money is coming from foreign countries including Canada. This money is for terror funding and agencies are probing it,” Gond said.Gond said that if ‘real farmers’ would have protested then the nation would have seen a shortage of foodgrains, dairy products and fruits and vegetables.“If the real farmers were protesting, then there would have been a shortage of food items. Vegetables, milk, food grains, and fruits would not have reached the markets,” Gond added, claiming that people know the true nature of the protesters.Gond was speaking at an event commemorating the four and a half years anniversary of the Bharatiya Janata Party government led by the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath.The chief minister in a press release claimed that his government devoted itself towards uplifting the agricultural sector and livelihood of the farmers in the state. Yogi Adityanath listed achievements like timely payment to sugarcane farmers and revival of old sugar mills while opening new ones, government procurement of crops during the rabi and kharif while removing middlemen and farm loan waiver worth ₹ ₹36,000 crore to help at least 86 lakh farmers get back on their feet as major achievements of his regime.Adityanath also said that his government transferred ₹37,388 crores to more than 2.54 crore farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana along with hiking the amount of MSP in order to give a boost to the sector.Earlier on Monday, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai slammed the Congress, saying that the party, along with ‘foreign agents’, are sponsoring the protests against the three farm laws. “It is Congress or foreign agents in the country who are the sponsors of the protests by the farmers which are happening in the borders of Delhi and other places,” Bommai was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao condemned Karnataka chief minister’s statements and said the statement is an insult to the protesting farmers. “If they have any proof, they should arrest those who are sponsoring it,” Rao said.

Hindustan Times

20-09-2021

India