To show solidarity, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Sunday urged farmers and their supporters gathered for the ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’ to chant ‘Allah hu Akbar’ and 'Har har Mahadev’.
According to a report by New Indian Express, Tikait accused the Centre and state governments of dividing people on communal lines. He shouted slogans of ‘Allah hu Akbar’ and ‘Har Har Mahadev’ at the stage claiming that earlier people used to chant these slogans together but were divided on religious lines.
Thousands of farmers gathered on Sunday at a mahapanchayat in Muzaffarnagar, where BKU leader Rakesh Tikait called Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders "rioters" and said the party should be given a drubbing in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
He also targeted the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh over sugarcane prices.
"This (Muzaffarnagar) is the sugarcane belt. There was a government which had raised the sugarcane price by Rs 80, while another government had increased it by Rs 50. Is the Adityanath government weaker than these two dispensations? It did not increase the price even by one rupee.
"This government should be given 'vote ki chhott' (electoral defeat). The slogan of 'fasalon ke daam nahi, to vote nahi' (no fair price for crops, no votes) will have to be raised," Tikait said at the mega rally attended by farmers from UP and neighbouring states.
The mahapanchayat was organised by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) at the Government Inter College ground in Muzaffarnagar in protest against the Centre's controversial farm laws.
Lashing out at the Centre over its National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) national spokesperson said "India for sale" boards have been put up.
Referring to Modi, Adityanath and Union Home Minister Amit Shah as "outsiders", the farmer leader said he has no objection if they become prime ministers after winning polls from Uttarakhand or Gujarat.
"But on the soil of Uttar Pradesh, these rioters will not be tolerated," he said. Tikait said SKM's aim is to "save the country and its mission is not confined to Uttar Pradesh or Uttarakhand". He further claimed the country's railways, airlines and airports are being "sold" along with "privatisation of electricity" and "sale of roads".
"The banks are being sold like FCI land is being given to Adani. The 'Sale of India' boards have been put up and the purchasers are Ambani and Adani," he alleged referring to the top industrialists. He also claimed that state-run energy giant Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and fuel retailer Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) are in "danger".
Popular names like Medha Patkar and Yogendra Yadav were also seen on the dais. Yadav was given a yellow robe by Tikait, while the BKU leader was presented a mace at the event. The farmers' protest against the three contentious laws has completed over nine months since they first arrived at Delhi borders. They have been demanding the repeal of the laws, which they are afraid will do away with the MSP system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporations.
(With inputs from PTI)
