Farmers' leader Rakesh Tikait to lead agitation against Agnipath scheme
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Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait will be leading a campaign against the controversial Agnipath scheme from tomorrow. He said the farmers' group will "fight with the Central government and the UP government'' over the issue.
He was speaking at a farmers' congregation in Baghpat district in western Uttar Pradesh.
A national spokesperson of BKU sought support from the farming community and said: "the campaign against the Agnipath scheme will begin on August 7 and continue for over a week."
He alleged that old police cases against farmers are being dug up to intimidate the community after they started engaging in major protests in recent years.
"When the BJP's government was formed in Uttar Pradesh, the cases against BJP members were closed. So, either they should be prepared for cases or we are ready for a movement. Those in Lucknow and Delhi should listen to this carefully," said Tikait.
He further said political parties can be broken and leaders of farmers' groups can be dissociated but farmers cannot be broken. Tikait spoke about issues related to the acquisition of land, power tariffs, and pending sugarcane dues to the crowd of hundreds of farmers. The leader said farmers will protest against the Centre and UP government.
He said youngsters of the country are suffering due to a "wrong decision" made by the government. He tweeted: "The farmers of the country have suffered for 13 months due to the government's wrong policies and today, the youngsters of the country are facing the consequences of a wrong decision. The government should know that those getting into the armed forces are also sons of farmers. We will fight till our last breath for the youngsters of the country and our children."
Agnipath, the Centre's new military recruitment scheme, has led to violent protests across the country since its announcement. Despite the criticisms, the recruitment for the programme has started. Many alleged that the government is breaking the hopes of young Indians to join the Army and earn a sustainable income. Some also alleged that the BJP-ruled Centre is trying to build its own army by training young Indians and then kicking them out of the military.