Addressing the Bharatiya Kisan Union’s first mahapanchayat after the government and Samyukt Kisan Morcha arrived at an agreement, national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait said if the incumbent government didn’t change its ideology, it will be voted out of power.
Speaking in Kairana on Sunday, Mr. Tikait described the 15-month agitation as an “ideological revolution” and a training ground for the farmers and the youth of the country. Thanking the villages for sending ration to the morchas, Mr. Tikait said nobody asked whether the food came from a Hindu, Sikh, or Muslim home.
Stressing that the agreement between the government and the SKM should not be seen as a victory of farmers over the government, he said: “It is the success of our belief in the traditional panchayat where our representatives worked for an amicable solution.”
Focus on MSP
One of the biggest successes of the movement, he said, was that the Minimum Support Price became a household name and people realised its importance for farmers.
“We don’t say whom to vote for. Our job is to remind the government of the promises made and the promises kept. Elections are about choosing one ideology over the other and I would like to advise the present dispensation to change its ideology else people would look for other options,” said Mr. Tikait to the crowd of thousands, gathered despite the cold.
With elections round the corner, he said, the government would come up with sops. “Lap them up. Governments will work overtime two months before the election. We will come again to assess the situation once elections are notified,” he said.
The BKU leader said a perception was being created that the MSP guarantee law would become a burden on the government.
“According to a rough estimate crops worth Rs12 lakh crore are grown in India. If the MSP guarantee law comes into the being, out of this sum, Rs3 lakh crore that go to the big businessmen at present, will come to the farmers. The government doesn’t have to spend an extra penny from its pocket,” he explained to applause from the crowd.
He said the committee on the MSP should have only those members who think about farmers, villagers, and consumers. “Those who have attended the corporate class should not be allowed to enter.” These, he said, are those who believe that if a calf consumes one litre of her mother’s milk every day, it causes a loss of Rs3,000 per month to the farmer.
“They are those who haven’t ploughed fields with oxen. We have been dealing with such people for the last 30 years. They are advocates of the corporates and the government would like to bring such people to the table,” he said.
Appeal for unity
He once again appealed to farmers to stay united. “We are being asked why we are holding a panchayat in Kairana. Some people don’t like your mel-milap (rapprochement),” he said, alluding to CM Yogi Adityanath’s repeated reference to the alleged exodus of a community from the town which has a significant Muslim population.
“We have come to Kairana to ask why the young workers of Kairana have to go to neighbouring Panipat in Haryana for jobs. Why could those industries not be established here? We have come here to point out that the electricity here costs Rs175 per horsepower while across the Yamuna, it is Rs135 per horsepower. Is the CM of U.P. less influential than that of Haryana?” he remarked.
