BKU leader Rakesh Tikait proclaims "Farmers' march to Kolkata" amid BJP-TMC poll battle

Amid the BJP-Trinamool poll tussle in Bengal, Bharat Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait on Thursday, proclaimed that farmers will now march on Kolkata. Alleging that farmers did not get MSP in Bengal, he said that farmers will harvest will their crops and then harvest. Addressing a Kisan Mahapanchayat in Haryana's Hisar, he said that Centre has not increased crop prices, but inflated fuel prices. 

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Tikait: 'Will march on Kolkata'

"Centre should not be under any misconception that farmers will go back for crop harvesting. If they insisted, then we will burn our crops. We'll harvest as well as protest. Crops' prices are not increased, but fuel prices have gone up. If the Centre ruins the situation, we'll take our tractors to West Bengal as well. Farmers not getting MSP there also," said Tikait. Today, 'Rail roko' was held across India from 12 noon - 4 PM

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BJP meets top leaders

Worried over losing favour in the Jat community, BJP president J P Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah along with Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Sanjeev Balyan held a meeting with party leaders from Haryana, Rajasthan and western Uttar Pradesh.  Sources in the BJP said that the meeting is being held by the union minister and Nadda in the wake of mahapanchayats being organised by khap panchayats (caste councils) in Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan. Balyan said that BJP leaders will be reaching out to khaps to remove misconceptions on Farm Laws and talk to UP government regarding sugarcane dues.

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Farmers protests intensify

After completing a peaceful 'Chakka Jam' across India except in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, farmers have intensified the protests with BKU leader Rakesh Tikait announcing a tour across Western India from February 14 to 23 - covering Haryana Maharashtra and Rajasthan, holding Kisan Mahapanchayats in these places to encourage more farmers to join the protests. Moreover, after the violence witnessed on Republic Day, Delhi police fortified the city borders by cementing nails near barricades, deploying additional troops, adding barbed wires etc at Ghazipur (Delhi-Uttar Pradesh) and Tikri (Delhi-Haryana) borders, blocking access to the roads completely. MHA had snapped off internet across all three border areas - Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur and later extended the ban to 1-2 days more. Farmers have reiterated 'No Ghar Wapsi till Law Wapsi', as the 3-month protests have caught several international celebrities' interest online.

Nadda, Shah meet BJP leaders from Hry, Rajasthan, UP amid mahapanchayats