Farmers Movement Archive

UP Gate springs to life as thousands gather, vow to continue their protest

GHAZIABAD: The protest site at UP Gate sprang back to life on Friday, galvanised by the arrival of several thousand farmers to mark the milestone day their agitation at Delhi’s borders turned a year old. The sights – clapping, cheering and chorus of slogans – the energy and decibel levels were reminiscent of the mood in early February after Rakesh Tikait’s emotional call for support, but with a crucial difference. At that time, the crowds poured in to demand a repeal of the Centre’s three new farm laws. On Friday, they came despite the PM announcing the repeal. From the protest stage, the message that Tikait and other speakers sent out was an unambiguous “andolan jari hai, jari rahega (our protest continues and will go on)” Setting the direction that the agitation will now take, with a law guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP) as the focal point, Tikait said, “We have achieved a major victory (in the PM agreeing to repeal the farm laws), but it is only half a victory. A law on MSP was also our demand since the beginning, and till government accepts it, the protest will go on.” He added, “In this one year of this agitation, over 700 protesters have died (the number put out by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, which is leading the agitation). We will not let their sacrifice go in vain. In our list of demands, we also want compensation for their families.” Tikait, who has led the protest at UP Gate (Ghazipur border) since November 26 last year, also warned protesters of a smear campaign against them. “Attempts will now be made to spread propaganda on social media to discredit our protest by saying farmers continue to block the roads and cause inconvenience to the common man even though the central government has agreed to repeal the laws. We will have to remain watchful of this,” said Tikait, who was present along with brother Naresh, who has helped sustain the protests from his western UP base. Naresh heads Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) while Rakesh has emerged as its face during the course of the agitation. Crowds at UP Gate – where the presence of protesters has been quite thin, barely 200 most of the time, for months – are expected to remain high till Monday with Tikait announcing that farmers would go ahead with the planned tractor rally to Parliament. “The tractor rally will happen. From UP Gate, 30 tractors and 500 farmers will head to Parliament on Monday,” said Tikait. With the border heavily barricaded, entry into Delhi from there is, however, not possible. Asked about that later, Tikait replied with a cryptic “dekhenge (we’ll see)”.

The Times of India

2021-11-27

Ghaziabad