Shimla | TNR
Farmers’ leader Rakesh Tikait arrival in Himachal on Saturday stirred up a hornet’s nest as far as Himachal politics is concerned.
While on the one hand, the Congress and CPI (M) have welcomed him with open arms, urban development minister Suresh Bhardwaj has openly slammed Tikait. Referring to the Solan Mandi incident, Bhardwaj said that Tikait was trying to spoil the peaceful atmosphere of “Dev Bhoomi” Himachal.
Tikait targets multinational companies
At a press conference held in Shimla, Tikait said that multinational companies were now eyeing the apple orchards of Himachal. The Adani group which entered the Himachal apple market 10 years ago were still giving apple growers the same rates that existed then. They were hand in glove with the government which had adopted policies favouring the group that had deliberately led to a crash in the market. He said that farmers from all over the country would prepare a strategy for the protest at the Mahapanchayat to be held in Muzaffarnagar on September 5. The voice of the apple growers too would be heard at the Mahapanchayat, Tikait said. After dominating the apple market, multinationals are now looking to take over the food grain market in the country and all three agricultural laws in the country were drafted by the government to suit their needs, forcing debt ridden farmers to commit suicide.
This land is not someone’s personal property: Tikait
On reaching Shimla, Tikait had a stop over at Solan Mandi where he spoke to farmers and apple growers. The atmosphere in the market got heated when one of the traders tried to stop Tikait and asked him to get out of the market. Tikait angrily retorted that the land was not anyone’s personal possession (yeh zameen kisi ke baap ka nahi hai) and this worsened the situation in the market.
Argument with journalists
During the press conference in Shimla too, Tikait got into an argument with some journalists. Tikait’s supporters alleged that pro BJP journalists were trying to divert the issue.
