GHAZIABAD: Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait had to clarify at a mahapanchayat in Haryana’s Bahadurgarh on Friday his October 2 deadline to the Centre to repeal the new farming laws. “The agitation will go on indefinitely till the time the three laws are repealed. There is no October deadline,” Tikait said.
Though Tikait has emerged as the galvanising force of the agitation after the January 26 tractor parade fiasco, farmer unions distanced themselves from his “unilateral” October 2 deadline, which he had announced from his protest base at UP Gate on February 6.
At the Bahadurgarh mahapanchayat, Tikait also tried to dispel the notion that he was emerging as a separate pole of the agitation – a much-discussed subject since his tearful appeal revived the agitation and made him a mascot – emphasising the primacy of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) in decision-making.
“Neither our platform will change, nor our leaders (hamara manch behi wohi rahega aur panch bhi wohi rahega),” Tikait said. “Our office will remain at Singhu border and there will be no returning till the time the laws are repealed (jab tak bill wapsi nahin tab tak ghar wapsi nahin),” he added.
Earlier this week, BKU (Chaduni) leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni, who is also a member of the SKM, had dismissed Tikait’s October deadline as his own, saying the SKM had nothing to do with it. “Our agitation will go on till the time the laws are repealed and there is no scaling down from this. Whosoever says this (Oct 2), it is not the decision of the Morcha,” Chaduni had said.
BKU (Tikait) spokesperson Dharmendra Malik told TOI, “Rakesh Tikait’s statement is being twisted. He never said the agitation will end in October. All he said was that he was giving time to the government till October to repeal the laws, and if it was not done, a struggle would be planned. There are some vested interests that are trying to drive a wedge between farmer leaders. We want to clarify once and for all that BKU(Tikait) is a member of SKM and all decisions will be taken by the Morcha, not individuals. This applies to all, including BKU(Tikait).”