The ‘Kisan Maha Panchayat’ was organized at the Chand Block in Kaimur district on Saturday. It was addressed by Tikait who stated that the agitation would be aimed at the Centre with a multi-pronged effect.
The farmer leader stated that their main demand was compensation to the farmers whose lands had been overtaken by the Bharatmala Expressway (a centrally funded project aiming to build a network of roads, highways, and expressways in India). This dig was aimed at the Nitish Kumar led government under which it happened.
“Around 50 villages and over five blocks have been affected by the land acquisition for the Varanasi-Kolkata Expressway,” Tikait said, demanding the restoration of mandis or bazaar samitis to facilitate farmers.
The demands were also highlighted by former agriculture minister Sudhakar Singh, who is a bitter critic of Nitish Kumar. He also addressed all the farmers who came from different blocks of Kaimur to attend the two-day-long Maha Panchayat.
All the other governments were headed by the BJP or other parties who were working against the interest of the farming community, according to Tikait. He further stated that they were trying to reduce the farmers into labourers by imposing their anti-farmer policies. Moreover, he stated that farmers need to be united in order to raise their voices against such policies and fight for their rights.
He announced that a big farmer panchayat would be held at the national capital on March 3rd, to express their demands. Before his address at the Kisan Maha Panchayat Rally, Tikait covered 17 km, while driving a decorated tractor from Bahora Gram to Chand with Sudhakar. Tikait is the same leader who had begun the year-long agitation in New Delhi, the year before.
The BKU leader will visit various farmer rallies in Bihar during his four-day visit. The itinerary stands as Bhabhua farmers on February 26th, Chausa, in Buxar on February 27 and Quila Maidan in Buxar on February 28th.
