“Gujarat ko azaad karwana hai,” claimed Rakesh Tikait who is increasingly sounding like a deranged man after the Republic Day violence and the subsequent plummeting of public support and sympathy to the so-called farmers’ protests. After being squarely rejected by the people of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, Tikait is now heading to Gujarat in what can be seen as a last-ditch attempt to drum up public support for the farmers’ protests.
Rakesh Tikait is in a conundrum. Unlike organic and public driven protests, the Tikait controlled farmers’ protests have absolutely no problem when it comes to funding as they are armed with truckloads of money if Greta Thunberg leaked toolkit is anything to go by. However, what the protests lack is the public support which has been alarmingly dwindling especially after the violence that ensued on Republic Day and the subsequent desecration of the Red Fort. In what can read as a brand extension in marketing terminology, Tikait has now announced a nationwide march to “set Gujarat free”.
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Perhaps, Tikait was taking a leaf out of the playbook of his masters who are hell-bent on breaking India and carving out Khalistan. Tikait claims that Gujarat is “controlled” by the Centre.
“We will march nation-wide, go to Gujarat and set it free. It’s controlled by the Centre. India is free but people of Gujarat are imprisoned. If they want to join the movement, they are jailed. We are deciding on the date,” said Rakesh Tikait.
The amount of misinformation in Tikait’s statement is way too high but one can understand his frustration as the farmers’ protests saw hardly any supporters from Gujarat, with the mood on the ground firmly in favour of the new farm laws.
Tikait is perhaps shocked that how even his tears failed to mobilise the people of Gujarat. Perhaps to mask his failure, he is now claiming that the Gujarat government is jailing people who want to join the movement.
In fact, Tikait is facing the heat after the much-hyped Chakka Jam was a massive failure too. The visuals of the chakka jam were so sad that people could actually count the number of people trying to block roads on their fingers. At many places across the country, Congress and Left workers were seen participating wholeheartedly in the blockading of state and national highways. Even in Amritsar – the heart of Punjab, a handful of people were seen blocking the entry road into the city. Across the country, there was close to no participation in the chakka jam by actual farmers.
To claim that the people of Gujarat are imprisoned reveals to the extent of deranged ness that Rakesh Tikait has fallen to. The people of Gujarat have elected successive BJP governments since the turn of the century and no one has forced them to keep voting BJP back to power. The upcoming Civic elections in the state slated to be held later this month are expected to yet again underline BJP’s popularity in the state.
Tikait wants to take the fight to PM Modi’s home turf to corner him. However, if Tikait indeed goes ahead with the nationwide march it will be a massive PR disaster that will end the hopes of Tikait’s political ambitions as the people of Gujarat are in no mood to entertain Andolanjeevis.
