Tikait said the farmers are ready to talk with the government on the farm laws but made it clear that the discussions should be held without conditions.
"Now it is necessary to investigate whether there is a lapse in the security or the anger of the farmers!" Tikait tweeted in Hindi on Wednesday.
Farmer outfits had held a "khap mahapanchayat" in Uttar Pradesh and a series of protests in Punjab and Haryana on Thursday, showing solidarity with the wrestlers who have accused Singh of sexually harassing female grapplers, including a minor.
Asserting that the agitation against the Centre's farm laws is a people's movement that will not fail, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Sunday said there will be no 'ghar wapsi' till protesting farmers' demands are met.
November 26 would mark one year of the ongoing farmers' protests at Delhi's border points of Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur.
Tikait's tears galvanised people, as on Saturday a large number of farmers and other supporters came to the protest site at the Delhi-UP border from not just his home state of Uttar Pradesh but from Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand as well to show solidarity with the movement.
Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Tuesday insisted that they have not withdrawn their support to the wrestlers and they have postponed the June 9 demonstration against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh only on the request of grapplers.
A Mahapanchayat was convened on June 1, 2023 by Bharatiya Kisan Union President Naresh Tikait in support of the wrestlers demanding Wrestling Federation of India President and Bharatiya Janata Party MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's arrest.
'Now the very government we helped to form is telling us we are enemies of the nation!' The BKU has stayed away from direct participation in politics. But this time they are not so sure, reports Aditi Phadnis.
'The demands are also the same -- all three 'black' farm laws should be repealed, a new law made to ensure MSP (minimum support price) for crops'
A confrontation was building up at the UP Gate in Ghazipur bordering Delhi with heavy security deployed while frequent power cuts were witnessed in the evening at the protest site, where Bharatiya Kisan Union members, led by Tikait, are staying put since November 28.
Tikait claimed a few inputs had been received regarding some "miscreants trying to disrupt peace" during the "chakka jam" that was announced for 12 noon to 3 pm on Saturday.
Despite the prime minister's surprise announcement, farmer leaders have maintained the protesters won't budge until the three contentious laws are formally repealed in Parliament.
Without naming the Prime Minister or using his 'andolanjivi' phrase, Tikait said, "In Parliament, they are saying these are parjivis (parasites). Was Bhagat Singh who sacrificed his life for this nation a parjivi? What about 150 farmers who died during this agitation? Were they parjivis too? Had they gone to Delhi to agitate and die?"
Dr Manmohan Singh's mortal remains were consigned to the flames at the Nigambodh Ghat in New Delhi on Saturday, December 28, 2024 amid the chanting of religious hymns.
'Why do you want to use the might of swords to make your point?' 'Why do you use force to scare people who don't subscribe to your views?'
'Fifteen days ago, we were only talking of Ayodhya. Now we are talking about farmers.'
BKU leader Rakesh Tikait said they planned to meet President Droupadi Murmu and will hold another mahapanchayat in Haryana's Kurukshetra on Friday to discuss the next steps in the agitation.
Urging all farmers across India to send one member of their family at Delhi borders to participate in the protest, Swaraj India chief Yogendra Yadav on Friday said the agitation against the three farm laws is not over.
The Punjab Police chief, Gaurav Yadav, and a senior officer from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mayank Mishra, visited fasting farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal at the Khanauri border point between Punjab and Haryana. They enquired about his health and heard his demands. Dallewal has been on a fast-unto-death since November 26 to press the Centre to accept the agitating farmers' demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP on crops. The visit came after the Supreme Court directed the Centre and Punjab government representatives to meet Dallewal and provide him medical help.
Social activist Yogendra Yadav has resigned from the Samyukta Kisan Morcha coordination committee but said he will remain a 'soldier' of the farmers' collective.
Farmers protesting over the MSP for sunflower seeds at Pipli in Haryana's Kurukshetra called off their stir on Tuesday night after an assurance from the state government of "appropriate price" for the crop.
"They did business of temple, religion and feelings. Now, they want to do the business on hunger," Tikait alleged.
Hundreds of farmers and their leaders, including Rakesh Tikait, took out a procession of urns containing the ashes from the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai to the Gateway of India, a distance of nearly 3 km.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi should for once express grief in Parliament over the death of around 750 farmers during the months-long anti-farm law protests at Delhi's borders, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said on Saturday.
In a show of strength in Jind by protesting farmers, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Wednesday warned the government that it could find it difficult to stay on in power if the new agri-marketing laws are not repealed.
Dallewal has been on a fast-unto-death at the Khanauri border since November 26 to press the Centre to accept demands including a legal guarantee to the MSP on crops.
As many as 37 farmer leaders, including Rakesh Tikait, Yogendra Yadav, Darshan Pal and Gurnam Singh Chaduni, have been named in a first information report in connection with the violence during the tractor parade that left 300 police personnel injured even as two farmer unions on Wednesday withdrew from the agitation against the farm laws.
Tens of thousands of farmers gathered in Muzaffarnagar town on Friday to attend a mahapanchayat in support of the Bharatiya Kisan Union-led protest against the Centre's new farm laws in Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border.
The "MSP Dilao, Kisan Bachao mahapanchayat", called by Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni), was being held at a grain market in Pipli close to National Highway-44 which was blocked by farmers a few days ago demanding that the government procure sunflower seed at MSP.
Jagjit Singh Dallewal, a 70-year-old Punjab farmer leader, is on his 21st day of a hunger strike demanding the Indian government address farmers' concerns, including a legal guarantee of MSP on crops. His health has deteriorated, and doctors have recommended immediate hospitalization. However, Dallewal, a cancer patient, has refused medical treatment.
Tikait said that farmers under the BKU will not accept anything less than a complete rollback of the laws.
Rohtash's decision, however, brought to light the differences arisen within the HAWA, which is affiliated to WFI, with its general secretary Rakesh Singh calling the suspension of the district officials as a wrong move.
Bracing for another agitation by farmers, police are fortifying the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh and Delhi-Haryana borders with barricades and deploying more than 5,000 security personnel, a senior police officer said here on Friday.
Tikait says PM Modi was supporter of MSP law when he was CM
'A flower garden is being created on the Delhi-Dabur Tiraha road. This will cover the dirt lying on road stretches, and also emanate fragrance and improve the environment around'
The group of six students, including girls, had arrived there to render support to the farmers by singing and playing 'dafli' (tambourine), they said. When the farmer leaders objected to their presence at the site, police sent the students back, Deputy Superintendent of Police Anshu Jain told PTI.
"We would conduct the rally on some different day," Bhartiya Kisan Union Rakesh Tikait said.
No breakthrough has been possible in the five rounds of talks so far as the protesting farmers have stuck to their demand for the repeal of the laws despite the government's assurance to look into specific issues without abolishing the legislations.
The committee advising the wrestlers have set a deadline for the arrest of the WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances