UP farmers to ‘strengthen’ agitation now

Muzaffarnagar (UP) : Farmers from western Uttar Pradesh will now move to the Ghazipur border near Delhi to ‘strengthen’ the ongoing farmers’ agitation.Speaking at the Maha Panchayat here on Friday, farmer leaders were unanimous in their opinion that they would take the ongoing agitation to its logical conclusion.Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) chief Naresh Tikait said that the ongoing agitation is now directly related to the honour of farmers, adding that the Centre has insulted the farmers to a great extent.He said that there is no question of succumbing to pressure and calling off the protest against farm laws is not an option.”We need to strengthen the protest. If we remain united, no one can break us,” he said.BKU spokesman Rakesh Tikait, who also attended the Maha Panchayat, was so overwhelmed to see the surging crowds that he became emotional after he was offered buttermilk and water from his village.Political leaders who attended the Maha Panchayat included Jayant Chaudhary of the Rashtriya Lok Dal, Imran Masood of the Congress, Sanjay Singh of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and former MP Harendra Malik.Chaudhary came down heavily on the Centre and said that the government did not make any ‘honest’ effort to resolve the farmers’ issue. He also announced his full support to the ongoing farmers’ agitation.Chaudhary moved a resolution for social boycott of those who are opposing the farmers’ agitation, which was unanimously agreed upon.The decision of the BKU to ‘move towards Ghazipur border’ now means that the UP farmers will play a more dominant role in the agitation that was, till now, dominated by farmers from Punjab and Haryana.