Lucknow: The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait called for a ‘Hal Kranti’ and said they would gherao the Parliament with 40 lakh tractors if it did not replace the three farm laws with a new law to ensure Minimum Support Price (MSP) to farmers.
The BKU on Wednesday organized Kisan Mahapanchayat at Kirawali Mini Stadium of Mauni Baba Ashram in Agra. The area is home to BJP MP and BJP Kisan Morcha National President Rajkumar Chahar.
Addressing a sizable gathering of farmers, Tikait said that time has come to fight a final battle with the BJP government. “This time we will not march to Lal Qila (Red Fort) but to Parliament and not with 4,000 tractors but with 40 lakh tractors to show farmers’ strength to the government,” he warned.
He asked them to take a handful of soil of their lands to Parliament where farmers will plough parks and empty land with their tractors to grow food grains.
“Days are not far off when foodgrains will be locked in godowns of industrialists who will control the prices of foodgrains under the new farm laws. They will buy your produce at cheaper rates since there is no law to regulate MSP and sell it at higher prices in malls,” he said, giving an example of how millets are bought for Rs 10-12 a kg from farmers and sold for more than Rs 120 a kg in malls.
The BKU leader asked farmers to go back and harvest your crop first and be ready to gherao Parliament. He said that the date for the Parliament march with 40 lakh tractors will be announced soon. “Go back and fill tanks of your tractors before the diesel prices are hiked again and be ready for the Parliament march on a short notice,” he asked farmers.
“Everything is being sold into private hands, the BSNL, Railways and now farming. Wake up before this government forces us to sell our lands too,” he said.
“They have thrown our headgears into the air, we will throw this government out. There is no Hindu or Muslim in our agitation. Kisan is our new biradari (community) and Kisan is our new Dharma (religion). We need to be united to save our lands,” he said.
Unprecedented security arrangements were made at the rally ground in view of violent clashes between farmers and BJP supporters in the last three days. A large number of security personnel were deployed in and around Mini Stadium to maintain law and order. Drones were keeping a watch on the movements of farmers.
