Will Rakesh Tikait's visit to Gujarat ignite agitation against new farms laws?

Indian farmer leader, politician and spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Rakesh Tikait will visit Gujarat on April 4th and 5th. He will address the 'Kisan Maha Sammelan' at Palanpur (Banaskantha district) and Bardoli (Surat district). Former Chief Minister of Gujarat Shankarsinh Vaghela will also attend the event.

Gujarat: Rakesh Tikait, a prominent farmer leader, will be in Gujarat for two days to protest against the three contentious farm laws, passed by the NDA government. The tour of Tikait will start from Ambaji, an important temple town, and he would address two big farmers’ rally one each at Palanpur and Bardoli. A seminar with farmers has also been organised which will be attended by Shankarsinh Vaghela, the former CM of Gujarat.

The BKU leader will start his tour of Gujarat on April 4 by praying at the Ambaji temple in Banaskantha district. He will reach Ambaji at 11:00 am and offer prayers in the temple at 12:30. He would be greeted by farmers at 12:45 and from there will leave for Palanpur, wherein a big farmers' rally has been planned at the ground opposite Surmandir Cinema on Abu Highway Road. The rally will start at 2:30 pm, after which he will reach Unjha city at 5:00 pm and offer prayers at Umiya Temple.

The next day, in the morning at 7:00 Rakesh Tikait will visit Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad. He will visit Sardar Patel Smarak in Karamsad town at 10:00 am and then visit Gurudwara in the Chhani area of Vadodara at 11 am. Later in the day at 3:00 pm, a farmers rally will be addressed by him and the other farmer union leaders at the Swaraj Ashram in Bardoli.

Shankarsinh Vaghela and many other prominent farmer leaders of Gujarat will accompany Tikait. According to the sources, Shankarsinh Vaghela will try to make the visit of Rakesh Tikait successful and there is a possibility that some of the unhappy Patidar farmer leaders may meet Tikait.

To date farmers in Gujarat have not made up their mind to join the farmer protests. On one side, they never have come out openly in support of these agricultural laws, but at the same time have never protested in public against these laws. In such a situation Rakesh Tikait and Shankarsinh Vaghela are trying to convince the farmers of Gujarat to join them in the agitation. They would highlight the harmful nature of these laws to farmers and appeal to them to join the movement.

Recently Yudhveer Singh, a leader of the United Kisan Morcha was detained by the Gujarat police when he was addressing a press conference in Ahmedabad. So it is not certain whether the Government of Gujarat would allow Maha Sammelan to be held. Will the government allow Rakesh Tikait and Shankarsinh Vaghela to go ahead with their protest rallies or will they be detained?

'Farmers of Gujarat would not be misguided'

Reacting to the news that Tikait and Vaghela will hold rallies in Gujarat, spokesperson of Gujarat BJP, Yamal Vyas said, “Farmers in Gujarat are happy and they have no issues. The farmers in the state get a fair price for their produces. In the recent local body elections, the BJP has won 31 out of 31 district panchayats by a large margin. It shows that people are with BJP. Farmers of Gujarat will not be misguided by anyone. People from all walks of life are happy with the BJP's development politics. However, everyone has the right to protest in the democracy.”

NCP announced its support for Tikait's rallies in Gujarat

Reshma Patel, a leader of NCP Gujarat said that farmers in Gujarat have been harassed for a long time. “Rakesh Tikait is coming to Gujarat in support of farmers. NCP is ready to fight shoulder to shoulder with him. He will definitely get the support of farmers in Gujarat,” she said. NCP has already said that we will support all those who are fighting for farmers and we will support anybody who is in favour of farmers, she added.

Aam Aadmi Party would welcome him

Aam Aadmi Party leader Bhemabhai Chaudhary said that when the national leader of farmers, Rakesh Tikait comes to Gujarat, they will welcome him. The Aam Aadmi Party is with the farmers' movement, he said. Tikait is the one who is fighting against the NDA government from the very beginning to get rid of the three black farms bills and so are farmers in Gujarat and that’s why they will support him, he added.

“Even in Delhi Aam Aadmi Party leaders have visited protesting farmers and have expressed support to them, so when Rakesh Tikait is coming to Gujarat to listen to the plight of the farmers of Gujarat, Aam Aadmi Party in the state is with him and supports him. The farmers of Gujarat are facing many problems, including the non-payment of crop insurance. They are in dire conditions as the Government of Gujarat has failed to compensate for the loss of crops. Keeping all these in mind, Aam Aadmi Party in Gujarat is announcing their full support to him,” Bhemabhai Chaudhary said.

Congress declined to comment

However, the main opposition party in the state the Gujarat Congress has declined to comment about Rakesh Tikait's visit. Gujarat Congress' acting president Amit Chavda and the party spokesperson Dr Manish Doshi, declined to comment about the visit of Tikait and whether they will support the Maha Sammelan.

What farmers are saying?

There has been a mixed response from farmers’ regarding Tikait's visit. However, the young farmers of Junagadh district are ready to support him. Talking to ETV Bharat about this, some young farmers said that they welcome the visit of Tikait to Gujarat. They are giving their support as he is leading the movement for the benefit of farmers. Compared to Punjab, the farmers in Gujarat have not been able to intensify their movement, but even they are capable of giving a fight to the government, they added. They say that the farmers of Junagadh are demanding the withdrawal of the black farm laws.

However, some farmers in the Mehsana district told ETV Bharat that in the state the farmers are least affected by changes in the laws. They said that the farmers are not with these self-styled farmer leaders. Some of them claimed that most of the farmers in Gujarat are happy with the government policies. Since the decisions are being taken for the benefit of the farmers, there is no need to protest.

Will the farmers’ agitation succeed in Gujarat?

It seems that there is no possibility of a large scale farmers' movement in Gujarat. If some leaders try to give the call for the protest, there will only be a lukewarm response, as most of the farmers in the state would not join them. Talking to ETV Bharat, many farmers have stated that they are not with Rakesh Tikait but with the government.