BKU leader Rakesh Tikait urged farmers to prepare for a nationwide movement over their demands as the second day of a 75-hour sit-in by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha here demanding the expulsion of Union minister Ajay Mishra and law on MSP began on Friday.
On Saturday, the final day of the strike, the farmers who are protesting a plan to march to the district magistrate's office. This was disclosed in a joint statement released by leaders of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM).
The SKM leaders will announce the date, location, and nature of the nationwide agitation. Tikait addressed the agitating farmers and made a demand for encouraging the Morcha, a federation of farmer unions.
As members of the BKU-Chaduni faction, which is not a part of the SKM, arrived at the demonstration site to show support for farmers, Tikait warned, "If the SKM gets weak, governments will get the better of farmers."
Farmers from various states arrived at Rajapur Mandi Samiti dharna site in the Uttar Pradesh district of Lakhimpur Kheri on Friday.
Ajay Mishra, the union minister represents Lakhimpur Kheri in the Lok Sabha.
In the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, which occurred on October 3, last year, his son Ashish Mishra is a defendant. The violence killed the lives of eight people, including four farmers and a journalist.
Since the beginning of the movement on Thursday, prominent leaders have addressed the dharna, including SKM core committee member Dharshan Singh Pal, Swaraj India national convener Yogendra Yadav, and social activist Medha Patekar.
The farmers also heard speeches from prominent farmer leaders from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Uttar Pradesh.
"The entire country is well aware of the violence and it was also known to all as who was the main instigator behind it," Tikait retaliated against Mishra.
The minister should be treated as an accused in the violent case under IPC Section 120B, which deals with criminal conspiracy to commit an offence, he said, adding that it is ironic that the minister is still in his position.
Farmers need to be prepared for a greater uprising to pursue their demands following this 75-hour sit-in, he said.
Other demands include the release of innocent farmers who are imprisoned, the repeal of the Electricity Amendment Bill 2022, payment of tax debt on sugarcane, and land rights for farmers, according to Tikait. These demands are in addition to the removal of MoS Home Ajay Kumar Mishra.
Additionally, he said that "a conspiracy is being devised in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand against the Sikh community to take their land." And the Samyukta Kisan Morcha will never permit this to happen".
Tikait visited to meet the four farmers imprisoned in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri incident on Friday along with a delegation of 10 SKM members. Reporters were informed by Tikait that the SKM would offer legal support to the families of the imprisoned farmers.
Darshan Singh Pal, a well-known farmer leader from Punjab and SKM core committee member, spoke at the dharna and said, "The administration was not initially ready to allow a 10-person delegation visit jail. The meeting with the jailed farmers in jail, however, was made possible by the farmers' cooperation.
