Enraged farmers once again protested on the streets on May 31, 2022 this time to condemn the attacks on farmer leaders and Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Spokesperson Rakesh Tikait in Bengaluru.
On May 30, farmers union Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) and members of the farmers’ umbrella body Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) called for a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan. The meeting attended by Tikait, Yudhveer Singh and Kavita Kuruganti was to refute claims of bribery by the farmer leaders.
What were the allegations?
Earlier, a Kannada TV channel called Power TV claimed to have done a sting operation wherein state farmer leader Kodihalli Chandrashekhar allegedly discussed stopping the transport workers’ struggle for money. The story also claimed that the farmer leaders were also paid off to withdraw farmers at Delhi borders. However, as proof the story only showed a few clips of leaders Darshan Pal, Kuruganti and Singh speaking with Chandrashekhar. There is no visible exchange of money or any financial dealing. Yet, the channel accused lears of taking ₹ 3,000 cr to end the Delhi struggle.
To condemn these claims and set the record straight, Delhi leaders travelled to Bengaluru on Monday. Since it was an impromptu meeting, Tikait and his team went to the conference without any proper preparations or security measures.
However, before Tikait could get a chance to speak against this, goons assaulted the UP leader with a TV channel mic and threw ink on his face. Both attackers raised slogans of “Jai Modi” and “Modi, Modi”. Farmers now allege that the TV channel allegedly worked with right-wing groups to target the farmer leaders. The entire “sting operation” is also being seen as part of an elaborate conspiracy to discredit the leaders of the movement.
Protests erupt
Angered by this, farmer units in Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi observed protests and submitted a memorandum calling for strict action against the attack.
“It would not be appropriate to ignore this as a small incident, as Rakesh Tikait has been attacked in the past as well. Therefore, the SKM demands that the culprits be given strict punishment. The police officers guilty of this negligence should be immediately suspended, a judicial inquiry should be ordered and Rakesh Tikait should be given security,” said the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) in a press release.
Although the main accused Bharat Shetty is already in police custody, the SKM said that Shetty was photographed with former Karnataka Chief Minister Yeddyurappa, BJP’s State Vice President, current Home Minister and Irrigation Minister. According to the leaders, this incident exposed the anti-farmer face of the BJP.
Similarly, the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) condemned the manner in which the miscreants barged into the conference room and attacked Tikait. The attack is a grave security lapse and a failure of the BJP-led Karnataka government, said the AIKS.
“The complicit role of the BJP in the incident also has to be exposed. The BJP-RSS have been all along opposing the historic farmers’ movement of which Rakesh Tikait was an important part,” said General Secretary Hannan Mollah.
However, farmers asserted that the struggle will not end until the government considers their demands for legal MSP, withdrawal of all FIRs against protesting farmers and compensation to martyred farmers.
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