Haryana 'khaps' extends grand welcome to Tikait

JIND: To gather support and build up momentum for the farmers' agitation, BKU leader Rakesh Tikait on Wednesday reached a village near here in Haryana to address a Kisan Mahapanchayat in Jind district where he was given a grand welcome by tens of thousands of people to extend solidarity.

Tikait was accompanied by state Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) President Gurnam Singh Chaduni.

Kandela 'khap' President Tek Ram, the organiser of the 'mahapanchayat', said all 'khaps' or community courts were participating in it.

"We have made arrangements for the attendance of 50,000 people," he told the media.

A day before attending the 'mahapanchayat', Tikait said the farmers protesting against the three central farm laws will take out a pan-India tractor rally if the government doesn't listen to them.

Earlier too, Kandela has been a centre of farmers' agitation. The farmers had launched an agitation from Kandela in 2002, demanding waiver of electricity dues.

Interestingly, after the Delhi violence on Republic Day, the farmers' agitation has shifted from Singhu and Tikri, where Punjab unions are camping, to Ghazipur where Tikait is holding the fort.