Farmers Movement Archive

Tikait’s advice to Govt.: change ideology, else you will get voted out

Addressing Bharatiya Kisan Union’s first mahapanchayat after the Government and Samyukt Kisan Morcha arrived at an agreement in Kairana on Sunday, national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait said if the incumbent Government didn’t change its ideology, it will be voted out of power. He described the 13-month long agitation as an “ideological revolution” and a training ground for the farmers and the youth of the country. Thanking the villages for sending ration to the morchas, Mr. Tikait said nobody asked whether the food came from the Hindu, Sikh, or a Muslim home. One of the biggest successes of the movement, he said, was that the Minimum Support Price became a household name and people realised its importance for farmers. “We don’t say whom to vote. Our job is to remind the Government of the promises made and the promises kept. Elections are about choosing one ideology over the other and I would like to advise the present dispensation to change its ideology else people would look for other options,” said Mr. Tikait to thousands of farmers huddled together. He said a perception was being created that the MSP guarantee law would become a burden on the Government. “According to a rough estimate crops worth Rs. 12 lakh crores are grown in India. If the MSP guarantee law comes into the being, out of this sum, Rs. 3 lakh crore rupees that go to the big businessmen at present, will come to the farmers. The Government doesn’t have to spend an extra penny from its pocket,” he explained to an applauding crowd. He once again appealed to farmers to stay united. “We are being asked why we are holding a panchayat in Kairana. Some people don’t like your mel-milap [rapprochement],” he said, alluding to CM Yogi Adityanath’s repeated reference to the alleged exodus of a community from the town which has a significant Muslim population.

The Hindu

2021-12-13

Ghaziabad