In an apparent bid to force the government to concede to their demand for the repeal of the new farm laws, the Kisan unions plan to rope in the farmers in the eastern and central regions of Uttar Pradesh.
So far, the farmers' agitation has been mostly confined to the western UP districts of Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Mathura and some other places.
The Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) plans to hold kisan mahapanchayats in every district in Uttar Pradesh's eastern and central regions in the next few days.
BKU President Naresh Tikait on Wednesday addressed a 'kisan mahapanchayat' in Barabanki district, barely 30 kilometres from the state capital of Lucknow, and exhorted the farmers to rise against the farm laws.
Tikait, who addressed the farmers at Harakh in the district, termed the government 'arrogant' and said that the latter should listen to the issues raised by the farmers and change its attitude.
''The way to the eastern UP goes through Barabanki....the farmers must raise their voice against the farm laws and only then will they be able to create awareness about them in the other districts in the region,'' he added.
''If the prime minister is not ready to take back the farm laws, then we too are not ready to withdraw from the borders,'' he said.
The BKU president said that Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who hails from the eastern UP district of Mirzapur, should support the farmers.
''If the government allows Rajnath Singh to speak his mind then he will certainly support us,'' Tikait said.
(Published 24 February 2021, 11:25 IST)
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