Rakesh Tikait: Farmers to Carry Out Tractor March on Republic Day

Rakesh Tikait, the leader of the Bhartiya Kisan Union, stated on Sunday that farmers will carry out a march with tractors on Republic Day. 

Tikait remarked during a khap mahapanchayat at Bhiwani's Kitlana toll plaza that the Union government was not keeping its promise to the five-member committee of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), which had spearheaded the year-long agitation against the three contentious farm laws. 

"Neither has the government formed a committee on minimum support price (MSP) nor has it withdrawn the cases filed against farmers during the farm agitation." We did not put an end to the agitation, but we did put it on hold for a while. "We've scheduled a meeting of SKM leaders on January 15 to discuss the future course of action," he stated. 

Meanwhile, Dadri independent MLA Sombir Sangwan, who organized the khap mahapanchayat, advised adults to consult with their parents before before getting married to a partner of their choice. 

Meghalaya governor Satya Pal Malik, who was the chief guest, was not able to attend the mahapanchayat. 

About Farmer Protest: 

Farmers were protesting the government's implementation of three farm laws that loosened rules governing the selling, pricing, and storage of farm produce – rules that had previously shielded them from the free market for decades. 

Farm unions claimed that these rules would expose farmers to large corporations and destroy their livelihoods. 

After months of claiming that the reforms would benefit farmers, Modi said on November 19 that the laws will be repealed. 

A bill to cancel the reforms was officially passed in parliament on 30 November. The verdict was hailed as a triumph for farmers as well as a striking demonstration of how mass protests can still successfully challenge the government. 

But farmers did not leave the protest sites immediately after Modi's announcement. They said they would continue to protest until the government agreed to their other demands. 

The government also pledged to compensate the families of farmers killed during the protest. This is also considered as a victory for farm unions, as the government admitted to parliament last week that it had no record of how many farmers died during the protests.