As the farmers' protest gain recognition from global personalities, a farmer leader at the centre of things did not know of the people extending their support. Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait still welcomed the support given by such famous persons as pop star Rihanna and environmental activist Greta Thunberg even though he did not know of them.
"Mujhe kya pata, kara hoga. Main kya unhe jaanun (I do not know; they must have done so. I do not know of them)," said the 51-year-old farmer leader from Muzaffarnagar in western Uttar Pradesh.
"Kaun hain ye videshi kalaakar? (Who are these foreign artists)?" he questioned, indicating that he did not know them.
Tikait was talking to the media on the Delhi-UP border at Ghazipur on Thursday (February 4), when he was asked about the support given to the protests by foreign artists and personalities.
When asked about Rihanna, Greta Thunberg, and Mia Khalifa, he said that they may have supported the movement but he did not know them. He also asked what the problem was if some foreigner was supporting their movement.
"Koi videshi agar samarthan kar raha to kya dikkat hai, kuch le-de thodi na raha hai (If a foreigner is supporting the movement, what is the problem? They are not giving or taking anything away from us)," he told the media.
The BKU leader also said that 15 Members of Parliament (MPs) that visited Ghazipur yesterday but could not meet the protestors should have sat down on the other side of the barricades.
"Barricading laga rakhi hai inge. Unhe aana tha, we wahin baith jaate. We unghe baith jaate hum inge baithe the (They have set up a barricading. The MPs had to come and they should have sat down there. They would have been on the other side of the barricade and we are sitting on this side)," he said.