Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait has said he will not contest any elections as he returned to Meerut after spearheading a year-long protests against now withdrawn farm laws.
He also urged political parties to not use his photos or name in their posters. “I’m not going to contest any election and no political party should use my name or photo in their posters,” news agency ANI quoted the farm leader as saying.
Tikait is the national spokesperson of BKU, a farmers’ outfit which is a part of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body under which the farmers had banded together to protest against the three legislations. The laws were enacted by the government in September last year, with an aim to open the agriculture sector to the private players.
However, protesters feared that the laws would erode a longstanding mechanism that ensures farmers a minimum guaranteed price for their produce. After the farmers refused to budge from their stand for over a year, the government formally withdrew the laws on November 29. It also sent a letter to farmers promising to form a committee on Minimum Support Price (MSP) and acceptance notice of their other demands
Following this, the farmers are now heading back to their respective states in large convoys of tractors and trucks, in the same way, they arrived at the Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri on the outskirts of the national capital a year ago.
Tikait also returned to his home in Meerut on Wednesday. The 51-year-old has been leading BKU supporters at the Ghazipur border since November 28 last year.
