Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) chief Rakesh Tikait, who has been a key face of the ongoing agitation against three farm laws, is set to meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at 3pm in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Tikait was quoted by ANI as saying, "We will talk about agriculture, health, education and the local farmers." Mamata has been outspoken in her opposition to the three farm laws passed by the Narendra Modi government last year. MPs of her Trinamool Congress had visited the farmers' protest site.
Tikait was quoted by ANI as saying, "The government should have open talks with the farmers of Bengal over policy. In UP, meetings are held every month with the DC. DMs and officers of every department come there. This policy should be implemented in all states."
On Monday, it was reported that Tikait was to meet Mamata to congratulate her on her recent election victory. Tikait had visited West Bengal before the Assembly polls and campaigned for the Trinamool Congress. Tikait had even campaigned for Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram, from where she narrowly lost to Suvendu Adhikari.
Reports have claimed the BKU was exhorting Mamata to play a greater role in the farmers' protests following her election victory. “They see Mamata as a pro-poor, pro-farmer, pro-people mass leader who is a street fighter capable of felling many a Goliath. They see a wider role for her now, beyond Bengal’s borders. That is why they are paying her a visit,” Trinamool national spokesperson Sukhendu Sekhar Roy told The Telegraph recently.
“The victory of opposition parties in Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the recent Assembly polls has given a big boost to the fight against the BJP. The farming community looks up to the leaders who have made these victories possible to further strengthen the fight against the Modi government’s farm laws,” a farmers' leader had told The Telegraph.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar reiterated the Centre's readiness to continue dialogue with the farmers. Speaking in Gwalior, Tomar was quoted by ANI as saying, "If the farmers' organisations are ready to discuss options other than the repeal of new agriculture bills, then the government is ready to talk with them."
