‘If govt creates problem for these farmers…’: Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait warns Centre

As hundreds of farmers commenced marching towards Delhi from Punjab, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait on Tuesday extended his support for the protesting farmers and said that if the government tried to create problems for these farmers then he is not far from them and could join the protest anytime.

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“MSP guarantee law and Swaminathan Committee report, Electricity amendment bill and debt waiver are the issues of the farmers across the country. There are several farmer unions and they have different issues. If the government creates a problem for these farmers who are marching towards Delhi, we are not far from them. We are in support of them,” Rakesh Tikait told ANI on Tuesday.

He said that all the farmers marching towards Delhi are demanding a law on MSP, implementation of the Swaminathan Committee report and debt waiver concerns.

While accusing the government of taking steps that are not in favour of the government, Tikait also pointed out that the price of agricultural produce is not increasing according to the rise in input costs.

Rejecting the possibility of the involvement of Congress and other opposition in the farmers' protests, Tikait said, “No one is supporting anyone, they are farmers...weak opposition gives birth to dictatorship.” 

Meanwhile, securities were heightened at interstate borders and Delhi borders as agitating farmers headed to the national capital on Tuesday.  In the National Capital, the multi-layer security arrangements to prevent the entry of protesters in Delhi have restricted the movement of locals.

"We have nothing to do with any protest, but to reach home after work we are asked to show our ID cards at more than three different places," said Raja Ram, who works as a labourer and is a resident of Tikri Kalan.

The Delhi Police has been preparing to stop the farmers from entering Delhi after the meeting between the farmer leaders and the Union Government in Chandigarh yielded no results.

To control the situation, around 5000 police personnel, including paramilitary forces, have been deployed in border areas, ie Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur - to maintain law and order.