After RLD’s bonhomie with BJP, farmers of West U.P. are in wait-and-watch mode

Major khap panchayats and farmer unions in western Uttar Pradesh adopt a wait-and-watch policy regarding farmers' protests.

The RLD says there is no compromise on its stated stand on farmers and minorities

Anuj Kumar

Ghaziabad

Major khap panchayats and farmer unions of western Uttar Pradesh have adopted a wait-and-watch policy for now with Delhi Police making massive arrangements at the Ghazipur and Chilla borders to stop farmers from the region entering the Capital in support of agitating peasants from Haryana and Punjab. They want to see whether the BJP walks the talk after bestowing the Bharat Ratna on Chaudhary Charan Singh.

“It is a test of how much the government believes in the ideology of Chaudhary Charan Singh and what role our leader Chaudhary Jayant Singh [Charan Singh’s grandson and Rashtriya Lok Dal chief] would get to play after he joined the National Democratic Alliance,” said Shyam Singh of Gathwala khap. He said farmers of western U.P. identify with the demands of their counterparts in Punjab and Haryana. “We are waiting for directions from the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU).”

The Tikait faction of the BKU that led the protests in the region in 2021 is assessing the situation before giving a call to farmers to reach the Delhi border. The Tikait brothers, Naresh and Rakesh, have appealed to the government to talk to farmers and fulfil the unkempt promises, particularly the legal guarantee of minimum support price.

BKU national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait said the union would participate in the Samyukt Kisan Morcha’s call of Bharat Bandh on Friday and added that a panchayat had been called in Muzaffarnagar on Saturday to decide the future course of action. He, however, sidestepped questions on RLD joining the NDA.