Farmers' agitation will not conclude before October, says Rakesh Tikait

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Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Tuesday said the slogan of the protesting farmers is 'kanoon wapsi nahi, to ghar wapsi nahi' (no returning unless the farm laws are rolled back). Speaking further, Tikait said the agitation will not end before October. "This agitation will not conclude before October, it will not end anytime soon," he said. Tikat's statement came soon after his meeting with Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, who paid a visit to Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, where he met protesting farmers to express his solidarity. 

Commenting on Raut's visit, Rakesh Tikait on Tuesday said, "There's no problem if Opposition is coming to support us but it should not be politicised. We can't do anything if leaders come."

"The traffic movement has not been blocked by farmers, it is because of the police barricading," Tikait added. 

Previously leaders of Shiromani Akali Dal, Aam Aadmi Party, Congress, Rashtriya Lok Dal, Samajwadi Party, among others, visited Ghazipur, which has become the camping ground for BKU-led protestors for over two months now. 

Also Read | Sanjay Raut meets Rakesh Tikait at Ghazipur border

Of late, thousands have converged in support of the ongoing stir against the contentious new farm laws.

Earlier on January 31, Tikait had said the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) had not allowed political parties in the movement against new central farm laws but took political support “only after the democracy was mocked” at protest sites.

Meanwhile, concertina wires spread further around the UP Gate (Ghazipur border) on Tuesday, while multi-layered barricading of iron and concrete structures along with nails studded on roads made sure no protestor movement towards Delhi.

The internet also remained suspended at the protest site.

Thousands of farmers have been protesting at the Delhi borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, demanding a rollback of the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

The protesting farmers have expressed the apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big corporations.

However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring better opportunities to farmers and introduce new technologies in agriculture.

Also Read | Ghazipur border: Delhi Police fixes nails on ground near protesting site