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At the Forefront of Farmers Agitation, Can Rakesh Tikait Dent Saffron Hold in West UP?
Bharatiya Kisan Union spokesperson Rakesh Tikait addresses a press conference at Ghazipur border in New Delhi on December 10. (File photo/PTI)
The massive turnouts in the panchayats held in Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor and Meerut against the backdrop of the farmers protests have clearly raised concerns for the BJP and given new hope to opposition players like the RLD, Samajwadi Party and Congress.
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Till a day after Republic Day on January 26, the ongoing farmers agitation was not being seen as a significant threat to the Bharatiya Janata Party s political capital. The reason being the movement along Delhi s borders for over two months was primarily viewed as a protest by farmers of Punjab, the state where the BJP is a minor political force and had generally depended on its estranged ally Shiromani Akali Dal.
Rakesh Tikait, once constable in Delhi Police, has been jailed 44 times in farm protest cases
Rakesh Tikait, once constable in Delhi Police, has been jailed 44 times in farm protest cases
Way back in 1985, BKU spokesperson Rakesh Tikait, who has been at the centre of the farmers protest against the farm laws, was once a Delhi Police constable before he jumped to fight for the farmers and has been jailed 44 times in connection with several farmers protests.
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BKU national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait (PTI)
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait, who has been at the forefront of the farmers protest at the Delhi border for the past two months, was once a Delhi Police constable and has been jailed 44 times in connection with several other farmers protests.
The need to find a middle ground on farm protests
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Farmers protest at Singhu border during their sit-in protest against the Centre s farm reform laws, in New Delhi, Monday.
(PTI)
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The call by the leaders of the farmers’ agitation to lay siege to Delhi was only partially effective. The agitation is still somewhat restricted and so was the effect of last week’s Bharat Bandh. Farmer leaders sat on a hunger strike at Delhi’s Singhu border on 14 December. What next?
The central government and the states concerned know that they must display generosity rather than adopt an iron-fist approach. This is why Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar and commerce minister Piyush Goyal have repeatedly emphasized that the central government has no ego in this matter. However, the movement shows signs of intensifying. Why is this the case?
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