Rakesh Tikait condemns Centre after expulsion from BKU; vows to continue farmers' protest

A day after the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) expelled Rakesh Tikait, who was the face of Farmers' Protest in 2020, he has now put out a tweet slamming the Centre once again for allegedly trying to weaken the farmers and pledged that the farmers' protest would continue till the 'last breath'. 

Rakesh Tikait tweeted, "The job of governments is to break, divide or weaken the farmers movement. Our religion is to raise the voice of farmers further, to protect their rights. The farmers' fight will continue till the last breath."

On May 15, hours after he was expelled, Tikait had issued his first response on the BKU split, expressing how those 'closest' to him had left to join the breakaway group. Speaking to reporters, Tikait remarked that when a family expands, views and opinions are bound to become diverse. Accepting the exit of his close aides, he urged the new outfit to continue work in the interests of the farmers. 

"There are many outfits that have been formed before as well, they must have lost their faith in BKU. We've worked 25-30 years, maybe they lost their faith. They should continue working in their new organisation. When the family expands, views start becoming diverse. Maybe they had a different view, so they formed a new organisation," said Rakesh Tikait.

Rakesh Tikait expelled from BKU

The BKU on May 15 expelled their firebrand face Rakesh Tikait and his brother Naresh Tikait after they were accused by farmer leaders of 'playing politics', and 'working in the interests of a political party'. With the ouster of the Tikaits, the organisation, which was responsible for spearheading and leading the farmer's protest against the now-withdrawn Farm Laws for nearly a year, has been divided into two factions. Farmer leader Rajesh Singh Chauhan has replaced Naresh Tikait as the new BKU (Apolitical) chief. 

Image: PTI