�40 lakh tractors will be there�: Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait warns of �Parliament gherao�

24-02-2021

Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait on Tuesday warned the Centre of �march to Parliament if it does not scrap the three agriculture laws against which farmers have been protesting on several borders of Delhi for nearly three months. Speaking at the Kisan Mahapanchayat of United Kisan Morcha in Sikar, Tikait said that the protesting farmers will gherao Parliament if the contentious laws are not repealed. �This time the call will be for Parliament gherao. We will announce it and then march towards Delhi. This time 40 lakh tractors will be there instead of four lakh tractors,� he said. Tikait also urged the farmers to be prepared for the 'Delhi march' as the call for it can be given at any time. He said that the date to gherao the Parliament will be decided by the leaders of the United Front. The farmer leader said they would plough the parks near India Gate and grow crops there, news agency PTI reported. He also alleged a conspiracy was hatched to dent the image of the farmers during their tractor parade on January 26, when violence had broken out in the national capital. �The farmers of the country love the tricolor, but not the leaders of this country,� he said.

Farmers' protest escalation plan
===========================
Farmers protesting against the Centre�s three agricultural laws have announced multiple events till February 27 to further intensify their agitation. On Tuesday, farmers observed 'Pagadi Sambhal Diwas'. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), which is at the forefront of the protests, earlier announced that under their proposed escalation programme, February 24 will be observed as 'Daman Virodhi Diwas', essentially to underline that farmers must be respected and no "repressive measures" should be taken against them. The Morcha said February 26 will be observed as 'Yuva Kisan Diwas' (youth farmers day) and February 27 as 'Mazdoor Kisan Ekta Divws' (farmer-labourer unity day). Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Sunday reiterated that Centre is ready to hold talks with protesting farmers, saying that mere gathering of crowd does not lead to revocation of legislations.