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Govt wants to turn farmers into labourers: Rakesh Tikait
Tikait accused the government of not paying the right price for crops while adding that farmers are being forced to sell their land to big companies and industrialists
PRAYAGRAJ Government is handing over farmland to industrialists while big companies want farmers to work in their own fields as petty labourers, claimed Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait while speaking at the BKU camp in the Magh Mela area in Prayagraj late on Sunday.
Talking to media persons, he added that the government is not working in the interest of the farmers. “Had the government done something for farmers, there would have been no need for us to launch an agitation to protect their interests. The survival of farmers and their families depends upon the farmland and yet the government is snatching away land from farmers,” he alleged.
Tikait also accused the government of not paying the right price for crops while adding that farmers are being forced to sell their land to big companies and industrialists. “Actually, the farmers are not getting the right price of crops and this is why the condition of farmers is going from bad to worse. The government is not paying any attention to farmers and their woes,” claimed the farmer leader.
Tikait also said that issues concerning farmers would be discussed at the farmers’ convention that has started in the Magh Mela camp of the BKU. Also, a strategy would be chalked out to protest the government’s anti-farmer steps in the coming days, he added. “Farmers are concerned about stray animals destroying crops. The government has been informed about this problem repeatedly but it has failed to do anything to resolve the issue,” he said.
On being asked about his recent meeting with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Tikait said, “Talks have been held with them to solve the problems of farmers in Congress-ruled states. He has assured that he will take steps to implement MSP by making it part of his party’s manifesto along with discussing related issues at appropriate forums of his party. It is expected that he will hold a meeting with farmer organisations before the Lok Sabha elections of 2024,” said Tikait. He, however, added that BKU will not support any other party in the 2024 polls.
On Monday, Tikait left for Buxar where farmers have been agitating for almost three months over “proper compensation” for land acquired for the power plant. He will return to the Mela area on Tuesday.
