Tikaits up ante; Rakesh calls for ploughing India Gate lawns; Naresh heads deeper into UP

As the farmers continue to protest against the Centre's 3 contentious farm laws, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) will hold a Kisan Mahapanchayat in Harkha on Wednesday. According to sources, the panchayat will begin at 10 am and BKU chief Naresh Tikait will address the agitating farmer unions. Officials from Sitapur, Kanpur, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Amethi, Sultanpur, Ayodhya, Gonda and Bahraich and other nearby districts will also participate in the Mahapanchayat. 

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Rakesh Tikait calls for tractor march to Parliament

This latest announcement comes after BKU leader and Naresh Tikait's brother Rakesh Tikait on Tuesday said that if the Centre does not repeal the 3 contentious farm laws, the protesting farmers will gherao the Parliament. Urging the agitating farmers to be ready, the BKU spokesperson said that the call for a 'Delhi march' can be given at any time. Rakesh Tikait said, "This time the call will be for Parliament gherao. We will announce it and then march towards Delhi. This time 40 lakh tractors will be there instead of four lakh tractors."

Stating that the protesting farmers would plough the parks near India Gate and grow crops there, Tikait informed that the leaders of the United Front will decide the date to gherao the Parliament. Alleging that there was a conspiracy to malign the country's farmers on January 26 when the violence had broken out in the National Capital during the tractor parade, he said, "The farmers of the country love the Tricolour, but not the leaders of this country."

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Openly challenging the Centre, the BKU leader said that if the government does not repeal all three contentious agricultural laws and does not implement the MSP (Minimum Support Price), then the farmers of the country will also demolish the godowns of big companies. The United Front will also give a date for this soon, he added. 

The Kisan Mahapanchayat was also addressed by so-called farmer leader Yogendra Yadav, National Vice President of All India Kisan Sabha Amra Ram, National General Secretary of Kisan Union Chaudhary Yudhvir Singh and others. Earlier on Tuesday, Tikait also addressed a farmers' gathering at Sardarshahar in Rajasthan's Churu district.

Impasse over farm laws

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 aims at freeing the farmers from the constraints of the state Agriculture Produce Market Committees whereby they would be able to sell their produce anywhere. Meanwhile, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 protects and empowers farmers to engage with processors, wholesalers, large retailers, exporters for farm services. The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 specifies that the supply of foodstuffs including cereals, pulses, potato, edible oilseeds, and oils shall be regulated only under exceptional circumstances. At present, the talks between the Union government and the farmers' unions have come to a standstill.

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This is owing to the fact that farm associations refused to agree to the Centre's proposal for suspending the implementation of the aforesaid legislation for one and a half years. While the last round of talks lasted for nearly 5 hours, the farmers claimed that the two sides sat face-to-face for less than 30 minutes. The divide between the two sides further exacerbated on January 26 after the farmers' tractor rally turned violent resulting in 510 Delhi police personnel getting injured and extensive damage to public property. During his reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President's address in the Lower House on February 10, PM Modi made another overture to the farmers. Clarifying that the Mandi system and the procurement at the Minimum Support Price will not be affected in any way, he expressed willingness to amend the laws.

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