Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Saturday said if he had to tell farmers whom to vote for, it would be a failure of 13 months of training at the Delhi border.
Speaking to television channel, Mr Tikait said he didn’t believe in passing his followers by “grace” marks. “They know where they have to cast their ballot,” he added.
When reminded that the three contentious farm laws had been passed by the Centre and the State government had no role, Mr. Tikait if farmers wanted to sell their produce at half the Minimum Support Price, they were free to vote for the ruling dispensation.
This is the third time in a week that Mr. Tikait, who proclaims that his organisation is apolitical, has made a clear appeal to vote against the ruling dispensation and made a veiled appeal to garner support for the Samajwadi Party- Rashtriya Lok Dal alliance.
Earlier this week, after attending a wedding in Aligarh, Mr Tikait said, Hindu-Muslim and Jinnah rhetoric were State guests till the elections were over. “People should be wary of statements made from government platforms. I don’t know who will win the elections but I can certainly say people will not vote for the ruling party,” he said.
On Thursday, in Bijnor, Mr Tikait reiterated that the BJP government ignored the interests of farmers and appealed to farmers to remain united. “The government that failed the trust of farmers had to face their ire. I am not telling you whom to vote but I can say only those farmers would vote for BJP who want to sell their crop for half the MSP rate,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a letter to the CEO of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the BKU has expressed objections to FSSAI’s proposed draft GMO (genetically modified organism) regulations called “Food Safety and Standards (Genetically Modified or Engineered Foods) Regulations 2021”
In a release, the BKU said the weak regulations allowed for backdoor entry of genetically modified organisms GMOs and that FSSAI’s track record on food safety was concerning.
