Bhartiya Kisan Union president Naresh tikait, while addrersing a Kisan Mahapanchayat at Munderwa says,’ supporting BJP was my bigest mistake’
The Kisan Mahapanchayat held near a sugar mill in Basti district of Uttar Pradesh, in which thousands of farmers gathered, Naresh Tikait said, “If we lose our lands, and can no longer carry out farming, what will we be left with? We have carried out farming for thousands of years and will not leave our land under any circumstances,”
Tikait urged the farmer to not support BJP and not to invite them in any event. “Today, the government has clashed with us (farmers). We only want the talks to happen smoothly, the prices of crops to be paid properly, and our soil to be saved,” he said.
Munderwa has been a favorite with farmers as a site of protest for decades. The BKU has a strong base in this area. Diwan Chandra Chaudhary, who hailed from the region and passed away in March 2020, was the national vice-president of the BKU once. Under his leadership, a huge movement was kickstarted in 2002 over cane prices. Three farmers were killed in police firing in these protests.
