BKU's Rakesh Tikait says farmer protests 'will continue' unless MoS Ajay Mishra is sacked

Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Wednesday demanded the arrest of MoS Ajay Mishra in connection to the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case and said that the Union minister should be removed from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Cabinet. Further talking about the police action against his son, Ashish Mishra, Rakesh Tikait alleged that it was a "red carpet arrest" and that he was given a bouquet during the interrogation. 

The BKU leader who was in Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki district for attending a mass marriage ceremony asserted that farmer unions will continue to protest until Mishra is removed from the Union Cabinet. He also informed about holding a 'mahapanchayat' in Lucknow on 26 October 2021, demanding the arrest of the minister. 

Calling both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the three farm laws bad for the country, Tikait said, “Modi is black for the country, just like the way farms laws are black for the farmers (sic).” Speaking about the ongoing protests, he said, "One day this government will withdraw them (the farm laws). For this, if we have to agitate for 10 years, we will do so."

Earlier on Monday, Tikait while addressing the media had said, "We have to talk to the government. We take the agitation from the struggle to a solution. The government takes the agitation from a solution to the struggle. This is the difference between political parties and us".

"The solution will come only through dialogue. Twelve rounds of talks took place in Delhi. We repeatedly told the government to start a dialogue again," he added. 

Actions taken in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence incident

The Lakhimpur Kheri violence on October 3 resulted in the death of eight people. Four out of them were agitating farmers, and the other four included two BJP workers, a driver of Union Minister of State Ajay Kumar Mishra, and journalist Raman Kashyap. 

Reportedly, four of them were knocked down by a car carrying BJP workers travelling to welcome Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya in the area.

Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra was arrested on Saturday followed by five other arrests in the connection. 

Meanwhile, speaking on the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Tikait stated that the BKU will decide on a strategy after the implementation of a model code of conduct in the state.

(With agency inputs, Image: PTI)