Centre should have opened talks with Bengal farmers: Rakesh Tikait ahead of his meeting with CM Mamata Banerjee

Confirming his meeting with CM Banerjee, Tikait said he will meet the West Bengal CM around 3 pm on Wednesday (June 9).

New Delhi: Ahead of his meeting with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said that the central government must have open talks with the farmers of Bengal. 

Confirming his meeting with Banerjee, Tikait said he will meet the West Bengal CM around 3 pm on Wednesday (June 9). “We will talk about agriculture, health, education and the local farmers,” he was quoted as saying by ANI. 

“The government should have opened talks with the farmers of Bengal, over policy. In UP, meetings are held every month with the DC. DMs and officers of every department come there. This policy should be implemented in all states,” he added. 

The government should have open talks with the farmers of Bengal, over policy. In UP, meetings are held every month with the DC. DMs & officers of every department come there. This policy should be implemented in all states: Rakesh Tikait, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), in Kolkata — ANI (@ANI) June 9, 2021

Tikait had visited Bengal before the Assembly elections and campaigned for TMC. He visited hotly contested Nandigram, where Banerjee faced her protege-turned-adversary BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, and asked people to vote against BJP. 

Tikait has been at the forefront of the farmers' protests against the Centre's three farm laws. Banerjee has extended support to the protesting farmers, who have been demanding the government to repeal the three contentious agri laws.