Rakesh Tikait reveals his formula for farmers' protest- one village, one tractor, 15 men, and 10 days

The BKU's national spokesperson, Rakesh Tikait, said this will enable the maximum number of farmers to participate in the movement and also return to the village and engage in farming. He also flayed the government for banning the BKU's social media page and urged the farmers to get ready for prolong agitation again the new agri laws.

New Delhi: Rakesh Tikait, national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), said on Thursday (February 4) that the government is adopting new tactics every day to suppress the voice of farmers. Flaying the government for banning the BKU's social media page, Tikait urged the farmers to get ready for prolong agitation again the new agri laws.

The BKU's national spokesperson, who is leading the agitation at UP Gate (Ghazipur border), conveyed a formula to keep the movement going: Get one tractor and 15 people for 10 days from every village. This will enable the maximum number of farmers to participate in the movement and also return to the village and engage in farming, he said. 

According to Rakesh Tikait, leaders of farmers` bodies are constantly urging the government to talk with them, but the government isn`t doing so, adding "the government, in fact, wants to prolong the farmers` agitation."

Tikait has, therefore, evolved the formula through which the agitation will attain longevity. Under this formula, 15 people from every village should stay at the protest venue for 10 days, and then the next lot of 15 should replace them. The first lot of protesters can then return home and tend to the fields.

Making this announcement on Thursday, Tikait said, "Work on the formula of one tractor and 15 people for 10 days from every village. Then, even if the movement runs for 70 years, there is no problem."

He also warned the farmers against foul language on their platform as this movement is for bread, not for votes. "Since politicians are not allowed to come to the stage, they are avoiding to come to the stage," he said, adding that the politicians are extending their support to the movement in a dignified way. 

Reiterating that he will not allow their stage to be utilised by leaders for their political purposes, Tikait said that MLAs and MPs of various political parties visiting the venue are guests. 

Rakesh Tikait took a dig at the government for shutting down the internet and said it was a conspiracy to deprive children of their studies, adding that schools are already closed, "now the government has stopped internet, how will children study?"

Rakesh Tikait said, "Through the media, we will keep requesting the government for dialogue. Now it is up to the government to decide how much time it has for the farmers." Notably, the 11 rounds of talks between the government and farmers so far have failed to resolve the impasse. 

Notably, the Delhi-Haryana highway, the epicenter of the ongoing farmers' agitation, looked like a pale shadow of its former self after intermittent showers restricted many protesting farmers to the shelter of their tents and trolleys. The usual presence of tractors on the roads, playing rustic farmer songs in full volume, was also reported to be thin.