BKU calls emergency panchayat after Rakesh Tikait 'heckled' at anti-terror rally in Muzaffarnagar
Muzaffarnagar (PTI): The Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) has called for an emergency 'Kisan Panchayat' in Muzaffarnagar on Saturday after a section of people at a protest rally against the Pahalgam terror attack opposed farmer leader Rakesh Tikait's participation.
BKU national president Naresh Tikait announced that the panchayat would be held at the GIC ground in Muzaffarnagar to deliberate on the incident.
Naresh Tikait said the incident at the 'Akrosh rally' was part of a conspiracy orchestrated by "a political party" to weaken the farmers' movement.
On Friday, Rakesh Tikait was allegedly heckled at the rally, organised by right-wing groups, to protest the Pahalgam attack and asked to go back. In the commotion, his turban also fell, purported videos of the incident showed.
"The incident was not spontaneous. It was pre-planned and driven by political motives," Naresh Tikait said, adding that farmers from across the region were beginning to gather in Sisauli and Muzaffarnagar ahead of the panchayat scheduled to begin in the afternoon.
Rakesh Tikait also denounced Friday's "heckling" and reiterated that he thought it was a political sabotage.
"This is a conspiracy by a particular political party to suppress the farmers' voice. Some youths were deliberately sent to disrupt the rally," he told reporters on Friday. He claimed that those shouting slogans against him appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.
In a related development, Tikait announced that the BKU would organise a tractor march to protest against the recent terrorist attack in Kashmir Valley's Pahalgam that left 26 people, mostly tourists, dead.
The date for the march will be decided in the coming days. He urged the Union government to take strict action against terrorist activities to calm public anger.
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Minister Parameshwara says remarks on properties linked to drug peddlers 'misunderstood'
Tumakuru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Saturday said his recent remarks on the demolition of properties linked to those involved in narcotics trade were "misunderstood and misinterpreted".
His clarification follows remarks made two days ago on the government's uncompromising crackdown on the drug menace, including action against properties linked to foreign nationals allegedly involved in drug trafficking.
"It is unfortunate. It is taken in the wrong sense. I didn't mean that tomorrow itself I am going to send bulldozers and demolish the houses. That was not my intention. It was wrongly taken," he told reporters here.
Responding to Congress MLC K Abdul Jabbar's question in the legislative council on the growing drug menace in Bengaluru, Davangere and coastal districts, the minister on Thursday detailed the extensive enforcement measures initiated since the Congress government assumed office.
Pointing to the involvement of some foreign nationals, the minister had said, "Many foreign students from African countries have come to Karnataka. They are into the drug business. We catch them and register cases against them, but they want the case to be registered because once the case is registered, we cannot deport them."
"We have gone to the extent of demolishing the rented building where they stay," he had said.
