JOIN USThe last rites were performed in accordance with Hindu tradition by Tikait's eldest son Naresh who lit the pyre at the Bharatiya Kisan Union headquarters. The cremation was attended by scores of political leaders including Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
Tikait, who spearheaded many a struggle uniting peasants in north India, died yesterday due to bone cancer at the age of 76. He was suffering from the disease since last year and breathed his last at the residence of his son and BKU General Secretary Rakesh Tikait here.
Besides hundreds of farmers, Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Minister Chaudhary Laxmi Narayan, Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan and other political leaders attended Tikait's funeral.
According to BKU sources, a memorial for Tikait will be built at the headquarters.
A large number of people paid tributes to the farmer leader after the body was brought to his Sisauli residence from Muzaffarnagar last night.