Govt wants to have me killed: Rakesh Tikait

Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait has alleged that the government "wants to get him killed" and that the attacks on him in Karnataka and Delhi are proof enough.

He was addressing the farmers and union members at "Kisan Panchayat" in Meerut's Kanker Khera on Friday.

Terming the recent black paint attack on him in Karnataka a "well-planned" conspiracy, he alleged that there was also a plot to kill him when he visited General Bipin Rawat's residence in Delhi to pay homage to him after he passed away in a helicopter accident last December.

It is a crucial time which cannot be wasted in infighting as the government is playing "sabotage" politics to disband the farmers' union, he stated.

"The Tikait family has always raised the farmers' voice strongly and will continue doing it. After Baba Mahendra Singh Tikait, Naresh Tikait has now dedicated himself to the cause. The Tikait family will not succumb to the pressure," he asserted.

Before the elections, he said that the Uttar Pradesh government had promised free electricity for irrigation but now farmers are being "harassed by installing meters on tube wells", which will not be tolerated.

Tractors more than 10 years are being stopped. BKU is fighting against such harassments. Tikait added.

Appealing to farmers to get maximum number of people under the union's fold, the farmer leader said that only a strong and united fight against the government will fetch results.

"The fight is on will continue until the government comes to the negotiating table. Till then, there will be no solution," he concluded.