Ghazipur (Uttar Pradesh): A day after his convoy was allegedly attacked in Rajasthan's Alwar, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) chief Rakesh Tikait on Saturday claimed that the "youth wing" of BJP is responsible for the attack.
"The Centre is responsible, who else can it be? It's their (BJP's) youth wing. They were saying, "Rakesh Tikait, Go Back". Where should I go? They hurled stones, used lathis," said Tikait.
"Why are they fighting us, we're farmers, we are not a political party," he added.
When asked about the possibility of a dialogue between farmers and the Centre, the BKU leader said, "If the government was run by a party, then dialogue would have concluded by now. This government is run by companies (Corporates). They only look at their business and profit. They don't care about anyone. They will profit more if there are more hungry people in the country."
The convoy of Tikait was allegedly attacked at Tatarpur Chowk in Alwar on Friday. According to police, four persons have been detained in connection with the incident.
After the incident, Tikait said that goons of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tried to attack him. He tweeted in Hindi, "Tatarpur intersection of Alwar district of Rajasthan near Bansur road --- attacked by BJP goons --killing our democracy." Following the attack, the BKU chief's supporters blocked National Highway 9 at the Ghazipur border. The Highway was opened for traffic movement later on.
Farmers have been protesting at the different borders of Delhi since November last year against the three farm laws -- Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
