Nearly 50% of the Indian population depend on Agriculture for their daily livelihood. Despite being the largest employer, agriculture in India has only 18.8% contribution in terms of GVA. Even after many interventions by the government, around 50% agricultural land comes under unirrigated (rainfed) areas resulting in heavy dependence on Monsoon. Therefore, from time to time Indian farmers face genuine issues and protest to raise their demands. This gave rise to many tall farm leaders including Chaudhary Charan Singh, former PM. But sadly, in the current scenario, imposters have high-jacked all such genuine concerns of farmers. Let’s talk about one such narcissist, so-called farmer leader Rakesh Tikait.
Rakesh Tikait shown the mirror by the farming community
Rakesh Tikait is back in the news and yet again for the wrong reasons. He has been using confrontational and provocative tactics to reap the benefits out of the genuine concerns of the farmers. Now, it seems the farmers have suffered enough and they don’t want this man to high-jack their concerns anymore. Recently, while addressing a Press conference in Bengaluru, he had to face the wrath of the farmers which he falsely claims to represent. On Monday, 30th May, three displeased farmers tried to attack him mid-way in his press conference.
Read More: Rakesh Tikait is worth a whopping Rs 80 crores; owns petrol pumps, brick kilns, showrooms
One of the farmers used the microphone and attacked Rakesh Tikait with all his might. The other farmer threw black ink at Tikait. These attacks created a ruckus and the two groups started throwing chairs at each other and fought like mad mongrels. The video of the incident became viral and the leader can be seen tainted in black ink. This clearly reflects the anger within the farming community towards the ‘Imposter’ Rakesh Tikait.
— 𝕸𝖆𝖓𝖎𝖘𝖍 𝕸𝖆𝖍𝖊𝖘𝖍𝖜𝖆𝖗𝖎 (@manishbaldawa) May 30, 2022
Rakesh Tikait: A Farmer leader who has no takers within his own group
Isn’t it hilarious that the person who tried to project himself as the biggest farmer leader in the country was thrown out from his own farmer outfit? Evidently, the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) had kicked out the Tikait brother duo from the outfit alleging them of being involved in ‘playing politics’, and ‘working in the interests of a political party’. This has created two factions in the farmer outfit that had spearheaded the protest against the three farm laws, now withdrawn by the Union government.
Read More: Tikait Fired!
Although many farmer outfits were involved in the farm protest, the BKU leader Rakesh Tikait took over when it was about to die a slow death. When all the farmers were going back to their agricultural land, he played his emotional cards. His crocodile tears worked wonders for the protest and after which his arrogance went skyrocketing. The outfit manhandled journalists, gave direct threats to the government, dislodge mobile service towers and created anarchy to polish their name in the political arena.
Read More: Rakesh Tikait is an imposter, Piyush Goyal is the real farm leader
But the important fact is that the panel appointed by the Supreme Court, after deliberations with pan India farmers concluded that 86% farmers were in support of the three farm laws. Mere amending the bottlenecks of the laws could have been beneficial for the small and marginal farmers. But the brother duo played on the fear psychosis of the farmers and projected the farm laws as anti-farmer and pro-capitalist. They gave rise to unfound fear of farmers losing their agricultural land. Had Rakesh Tikait been a farm leader like the previous great farming icons, the route of amicable solution rather than confrontational politics would have been used.
The journey of Rakesh Tikait has been one of an arrogant person who doesn’t hesitate to play the emotional cards and use farmer issues for his political benefit. But the latest attacks on him show the growing anger within the farming community and that the farmers have realised his ugly political ambitions behind the mask of a farmer leader.