Farmers ready to talk if Centre invites, demands remain unchanged: BKU leader Rakesh Tikait

BKU leader Rakesh Tikait said, "The talks with the government would resume from the same point where it had ended on January 22."

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New Delhi: BKU leader Rakesh Tikait on Sunday (April 11) reiterated that the farmers protesting at the borders against the Centre’s three new farm laws are ready to talk if the Centre invites them and the demands remain unchanged. 

He said for the talks to resume, the government should invite the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM)- an umbrella body representing protesting farmers. “The talks with the government would resume from the same point where it had ended on January 22. The demands are also the same -- all three 'black' farm laws should be repealed, a new law made to ensure MSP (minimum support price) for crops,” Tikait was quoted as saying in a statement issued by BKU media in-charge Dharmendra Malik. 

His response comes after Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij requested Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar to resume talks with the protesting farmers amid a daily surge in COVID-19 cases. Vij said he is worried about the farmers protesting on the state borders with Delhi as the corona threat is looming large. 

Meanwhile, Tikait said that the farmers will not allow Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to enter Badauli village for an event on April 14. 

Khattar is slated to visit Badauli village in Panipat to unveil a statue of B. R. Ambedkar on the occasion of the Dalit icon's birth anniversary on April 14.

"We are not against Baba Saheb's statue, we are against Khattar. Samyukta Kisan Morcha has decided that as long as our protest is on we are against the CM and the deputy CM." 

He also accused the CM of attending the event to “disrupt amity”. "He is not coming here to unveil the statue, but as per the BJP's plot he is coming here to disrupt the amity among people. And we, along with the Khap Panchayat, we will not allow him to do that,” the BKU leader was quoted as saying by PTI. 

"We won't let him enter the village. If anyone else wants to unveil the statue, they can do it," he added. 

(With PTI inputs)