Rakesh Tikait: 500 Farmers to Reach Delhi Parliament in Tractors on 29 November

Rakesh Tikait, leader of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) has said that 30 tractors carrying 500 farmers will assemble in Parliament on November 29 — the opening day of the winter session — to demand for a law guaranteeing minimum support prices (MSPs). 

"On November 29, 500 farmers will ride 30 tractors to Delhi. The specifics will be released during a meeting on November 26, which will be the first anniversary of our protest," Tikait stated at a rally in Ghaziabad. 

The announcement comes as the Union Cabinet adopted a proposal on Wednesday to abolish three contentious farm laws that have resulted in tens of thousands of farmers demonstrating for more than a year. With the Cabinet's approval, the government will be allowed to introduce a "repeal bill" in Parliament to repeal three different laws. The Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021, was mentioned as one of 26 pieces of legislation to be introduced during the session in a Lok Sabha bulletin. 

Tikait asserted that a legislation guaranteeing MSP is a major concern for the protesting farmers, saying, "The three bills were related to the public, whereas the fundamental demand of farmers is the guarantee on MSP... The government has 35 days to pass legislation on MSP while also accepting full responsibility of farmers who perished during the agitation, including compensation." 

"We will withdraw our protest and return home once the government meets our demand for legislation on Minimum Support Price (MSP)," he added. We do not want to remain at the Delhi border till January 26. We will return home if the government fulfills our demand for MSP and compensation for the 750 farmers who perished during the protest." 

Later, he tweeted: “This protest will not end yet. We have a meeting on November 27 after which we will take further decisions...” 

Regarding election campaigning against the BJP, the farmer leader stated, "Campaigning against the BJP would be decided only once the Model Code of Conduct is implemented." Let the government do its job for the time being."