Sadly, business in India runs on people's hunger: Tikait

Over 500 farmers from each border will march towards Parliament from November 27 onwards. Each day, as many as 1,000 farmers in rotation will march to the protest site and stage a dharna during the entire winter session of the Parliament

Ghazipur (Delhi-UP border)

The ongoing protest by farmers against farm laws enacted by the Narendra Modi Government is considered as one of the world's largest agitations. This prolonged agitation will be completing its one year on November 26. Thousands, if not lakhs, of farmers continue to protest against the three controversial laws namely The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act-2020; Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act-2020 and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act-2020. Bizz Buzz spoke with Rakesh Tikait, national spokesperson of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), on the dynamics of the protest and the way forward upon one year of resistance. BKU is the one of the main unions spearheading the farmers' agitation.

Q: Agitation against farm laws will be completing a year on November 26. What is the way forward from here?

A: Over 500 farmers from each border will march towards Parliament from November 27 onwards. As government said that they have opened two borders (Tikri and Ghazipur), 500 farmers from each location on 30 tractors will reach Parliament. And each participant's identity will be verified, their Aadhar Card or other ID cards will be submitted. The intention isn't to crowd over at the Parliament protest site, but to make a statement. So, each day, as many as 1,000 farmers in rotation will march to the site and stage a dharna during the entire winter session of the Parliament.

So far, 10 rounds of discussions have taken place with the government on farm laws. Why is the government hesitant to repeal farm laws?

The central government's intention is to benefit the companies, which is why the farm laws aren't getting repealed. The intention is to procure crops at cheap rate, which would benefit the big players. The companies can capture grains and the business in the country will run on hunger. The procurement of crops will take place outside of the Mandis which will eliminate the Mandis altogether. The lands of these Mandis will be sold off.

You had mentioned recently that there isn't a strong political opposition to these farm laws. Would you or your brother, Naresh Tikait, consider entering politics?

No. We will not enter politics under any circumstances. We will continue our work with the farmers' union.

You have supported BJP and some of its members in the past. What is your equation with the party now?

I don't have any connections with BJP. At the time, everyone had supported BJP. People voted to the party.Hence, they came into the power.

What is your opinion of the Lakhimpur violence since you were one of the few leaders, who was allowed access to the place?

It's just that we went there (Lakhimpur) four hours before and others came in after few hours later, so some could not go to the place. Approximately 10,000 people were there at Lakhimpur including (political) leaders, family members of the victims. So, the incident was addressed through a collective effort. Not just by me.

Last month Supreme Court had said that there is no need to carry out the protest since the apex court has already put a stay on the laws. Your take on this?

Supreme Court did not tell us. The court might have put a stay order on the farm laws but it is our right to protest. The procurement of crops is taking place outside of mandi, so hoarding is taking place, crops are being stored at the godown. So, where is the stay?

Do you think the ongoing farmers protest will have any effect on the upcoming Assembly elections?

People are angry, but they also believe what is conveyed to them via media and press. The camera and pen (press) are at gunpoint.

Do you think this may affect UP elections?

There should be an effect on this. But we can't predict the outcome of the elections. We don't have the details of the vote count that they might get.

Do you believe there are lesser participants from Southern states in comparison to farmers who have joined in from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh?

When the agitation had started, trains were not running here. So, people coming from the far-off states couldn't join us. The entire nation can't come here. There is anger amongst farmers across India. This is an ideological revolution and when an ideological revolution takes place it has the power to transform the world. This revolution has generated from the thoughts and ideas of thepeople and certainly there is anger in those thoughts.

There are also allegations that the farmers protest is politically motivated. What is your say on this?

A political movement on such a (large) scale has never taken place. No such movement has taken place with political funding. Tell me if such a struggle has ever taken place in India for a year where it was politically funded. There is no requirement for us for funds. Pulses, rice, wheat are brought in from our native villages. Some people have donated us tents, while many farmers brought in the material from their homes to pitch a tent at the site here. Farmers come here on a rotational basis. This protest site isn't anyone's private property. Those who join in stay here.

Are there any other demands apart from these three farm laws?

There is Seed Bill, which will be tabled in the Parliament in the upcoming winter session. There is another policy on dairy which might wipe-out the animal husbandry altogether. There is also an Electricity Amendment Bill, Bill on pollution wherein we can't drive tractors which are above 10 years or use pumps which are a decade old. There is also Labour Act. They are selling the entire nation. Inflation is a big issue. This protest is not just about the farm laws, it's about everything cumulatively.

Do you anticipate an incident similar to January 26, 2020 taking in the future?

They (the Indian government) can create such a scenario again. Maybe a situation more dire, dangerous than the previous incident. The incident that took place (at the Red Fort) was staged by the Indian government entirely.