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Don’t try to divide Samyukt Kisan Morcha: Rakesh Tikait

Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait on Wednesday said farmers would not return to villages until law on guaranteed Minimum Support Price (MSP) was enacted. He urged the government not to spread rumours and try to divide the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM).

It seemed the government wanted the agitation to end without talking to farmers across the table. “The government should make it clear if Delhi’s doors are closed for farmers. If that is the case, can farmers shut their doors on the government?” he asked.

When the movement was inching towards its conclusion, “the government shouldn’t indulge in jalsaazi [forgery]”. “We are ready to talk across the table. The SKM was, is, and will be there,” he stated.

The last card in the hand of the government was to break the unity of the umbrella body of farmers’ unions. “We are meeting on December 4 to decide the future course,” he remarked.

The movement was in its final round and farmers should be prepared for it and reach the morchas in large numbers. “A rumour is being spread that farmers are returning home after the farm laws have been repealed in Parliament. I want to clarify that farmers continue to camp at the Delhi borders as only one issue has been resolved,” he observed.

Tikait alleged that a section of the media was trying to spread misinformation that the demand for law on MSP was new. “In 2011, a committee was formed and the present Prime Minister was a member of it as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. The committee said in its report a legal guarantee on MSP should be given. We appeal to the Prime Minister to implement the committee’s report. There is no need to form a new one,” he said in a video message. “A committee will be required when the MSP law is enacted, in order to ensure its implementation. Don’t try to confuse us.”

Questions on the prospective Seed Bill, Pesticide Bill, and Kisan Credit Card remained and they could be addressed by a committee proposed by the Prime Minister. Tikait asked what would happen to the tractors that were confiscated in Delhi during the protests. “In Haryana alone, there are cases on around 55,000 people. Those cases, in addition to the cases in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, should be taken back. Nobody wants to take these cases home,” he added.