After Delhi, Rakesh Tikait threatens tractor agitation in Gujarat
Ahmedabad: Bhartiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Monday threatened to start a farmers' tractor agitation in Gujarat after Delhi, and said time has come to gherao the state capital Gandhinagar and also break barricades if needed.
Talking to reporters outside the Sabarmati Ashram here, Tikait claimed farmers in Gujarat were unhappy and suffering.
Hundreds of farmers have been camping at Delhi's borders since November last year against the Centre's three agriculture reform laws. They are demanding a repeal of the three laws along with a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their produce.
The protesting farmers took out a tractor rally in Delhi on January 26.
"Farmers will conduct an agitation in Gujarat using their tractors. Time has come to gherao Gandhinagar and block roads. If needed, we will have to break barricades too," Tikait said.
The BKU leader is on a two-day tour of Gujarat since Sunday to campaign against the Centre's three farm laws.
On the second day of his visit, Tikait, accompanied by former Gujarat chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela, paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at the Sabarmati Ashram.
"Farmers are suffering because there is no agitation here. There is no backing from courts also. Farmers are compelled to say they are happy and making profit. Please give us that technology which is helping Gujarat's farmers to reap benefits," said Tikait.
He claimed farmers of Banaskantha are compelled to sell potatoes for Rs 3 per kilogram.
"Is that enough to make farmers happy? We have come here to remove fear from the minds of farmers. We will agitate in a peaceful manner," Tikait said, when asked about his future plans for Gujarat.
Later, Tikait and Vaghela reached Karamsad town in Anand district and paid tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at his native place.
Tikait then headed to Bardoli in Surat, where he would address farmers in the evening.
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Sri Lankan Tamils observe 15th anniversary of armed conflict end
Colombo (PTI): Sri Lanka on Saturday marked the 15th anniversary of the end of the armed separatist campaign with Tamils holding a series of events throughout the former conflict zone in the north and east regions to remember their dear ones killed in the clashes.
However, in many areas, police and the government troops were accused of attempting to disrupt the memorial events.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had run a military campaign for a separate Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern provinces of the island nation for nearly 30 years before its collapse in 2009.
On May 18, 2009, Sri Lankan army declared victory with the discovery of the body of the dreaded LTTE leader Velupillai Prabakaran.
Agnes Callamard, the Secretary General of the Amnesty International, visited the final battle site at Mullaivaikkal in the north-eastern Mullaithivu district to attend the commemoration.
“Today’s anniversary is a grim reminder of the collective failure of the Sri Lankan authorities and the international community to deliver justice to the many victims of Sri Lanka’s three decade-long internal armed conflict,” Callamard said.
She said the UN investigations have found credible evidence of crimes committed by both sides to the conflict - “yet there has been little by the way of an independent or impartial national inquiry.”
The police and the government troops were accused of attempting to disrupt the memorials leading to the day’s event in different parts. The troops maintained that in the guise of remembering the 'conflict dead', permission cannot be given for the events that celebrate the LTTE, a banned organisation.
The troops came under fire for arresting several Tamils, including women, for organising memorials.
In Colombo, police thwarted an attempt to disrupt a ceremony commemorating those killed in conflict. One person was arrested as he argued with police saying he was against the LTTE being commemorated, police said.
Meanwhile, the government’s celebration of the victory in the war is to take place on Sunday with the participation of Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the war memorial near parliament here.
The defence ministry has announced promotions to over 3,100 sailor and 1,300 soldiers to mark the victory over the LTTE ending the separatist campaign.
