Protest will go on till accused held: Tikait

Lakhimpur Kheri

Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Wednesday said his agitation against the killings of “five farmers” -- he included the deceased journalist among farmers-- in Lakhimpur Kheri has not ended, adding that the government has eight days to arrest the accused.

“We will wait till the ‘ardas’ (prayers performed on the 10th day after the death of a person belonging to Sikh community) for the arrest of the accused and resignation of the minister (Union minister of state for home, Ajay Kumar Mishra),” Tikait said while addressing a press conference at a gurdwara in Lakhimpur Kheri on Wednesday.

He warned that a nationwide agitation would be launched if the demands were not met by the deadline.

The BKU spokesperson and the face of farmers’ protest against the three central farm laws, Tikait left Lakhimpur Kheri after an agreement was reached between the farmers and the Uttar Pradesh authorities on October 4. The farmers then allowed the postmortem of the four deceased farmers.

However, he returned to Lakhimpur Kheri after relatives of one of the deceased farmers, 22-year-old Gurvinder Singh , refused to cremate him raising doubts over the postmortem report. On Tikait’s intervention, a second postmortem was conducted on Tuesday night by a team of experts from Lucknow. Singh was cremated on Wednesday in the presence of Tikait.

Eight people, including four farmers, were killed in Lakhimpur Kheri district on Sunday, in the bloodiest clash since the farmers’ protest over the Centre’s three contentious agricultural laws started last year. The farmers were allegedly knocked down by a convoy of vehicles, one of which belonged to Mishra. Two BJP workers and a driver were allegedly pulled out of the vehicles and lynched by angry protesters. A journalist working for a private TV channel, Raman Kashyap, also died in the violence. The farmers allege that Mishra’s son was in the convoy.

When asked if there were any differences over the agreement he mediated on October 4, Tikait said, “The agreement was reached after consultation with and consent from the aggrieved family members, local community members and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha officials.”

Responding to a question regarding killings of two BJP workers and a driver, Tikait said they fell prey to mob fury. “When four-five persons were killed and 15 to 20 persons got injured (under the wheels), the furious mob expressed its anger,” he said.

The farm leader also dismissed Union minister of state Ajay Kumar Mishra’s statement that he and his son were not present at the site of violence. “It is only the minister who is defending himself and no one else (is backing his claims). “ He also sought the minister’s resignation.

Tikait also said that bullet shots were fired in Tikonia violence and that videos substantiating this are available. To be sure, no such video has as yet emerged.

Commenting on the ongoing agitation against the three farm laws, the BKU leader said, “The agitation will continue till the repeal of three farm laws and enactment of law on minimum support price (MSP).”