Farmers Movement Archive

Centre responsible for Singhu murder: BKU leader Rakesh Tikait

ROHTAK: BKU leader Rakesh Tikait on Saturday blamed the central government for the lynching of a Dalit man, accused of desecrating the Sikh holy book, Guru Granth Sahib, at the Singhu border. “The incident occurred near the border site where law-enforcing agencies remained present in big numbers. What were they doing when the episode of murder was going on for hours?” asked Tikait, who was attending Kisan Mahapanchayat here on Saturday. Responding to a query on who should take responsibility for the killing, Tikait said it was the responsibility of the Centre to see what was happening. He alleged that the central government had invested heavily in breaking the peaceful agitation by farmers on the Delhi borders. On the inconvenience being caused due to the blockade of roads at the protest site, Tikait said they had not blocked any road, but it was the police department that had constructed walls and laid barricades. “We have not come with barricades; it is the police that have blocked the roads. The farmers would happily shift their agitation to India Gate, like our predecessors in 1988,” he added. Gurnam Singh Charuni, the BKU (Charuni) leader, said it was not a coincidence that Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar had invoked his party members to pick up sticks against farmers, and then the Lakhimpur incident also took place. “CM Khattar is exhorting his party members to pick up sticks but we would continue to do our agitation peacefully”, he added. Commenting on the murder of the Dalit man at the Singhu border, Charuni said that he had not been to the protest site after the murder and would respond only after visiting the spot after finding out the ground reality. Independent MLA Sombir Sangwan and Balraj Kundu also attended the mahapanchayat along with farmer leaders.

The Times of India

2021-10-17

Chandigarh