Rakesh Tikait heckled in Muzaffarnagar during meeting to express solidarity with victims of terror attack

Rakesh Tikait, the national spokesperson of the Tikait faction of the BKU.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait was allegedly heckled by members of right-wing groups in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, on Friday evening when he was about to address a public meeting called in solidarity with victims of the Pahalgam terror attack. In the melee, Mr. Rakesh’s turban came off and he had to be escorted by police personnel and his supporters.

Describing it as an “attack on farmer pride”, Naresh Tikait, president of the Tikait faction of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), called an emergency meeting on Saturday.

Samajwadi Party’s Muzaffarnagar MP Harendra Malik and Rashtriya Lok Dal MLA Rajpal Malik expressed solidarity with farmer leaders and appealed to the administration to take strong action against the hoodlums.

Superintendent of Police (City) Satyanarayan Prajapat said the administration took note of the incident and is checking the video evidence.

The incident came after Mr. Naresh faced the backlash of a section of farmer groups for criticising the government’s decision to put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance following the terror attack.

In the last couple of days, both Mr. Naresh and Mr. Rakesh have claimed that they had been misquoted by the media and that they support strong action against Pakistan. However, Mr. Naresh continues to question lapses in security arrangements at tourist spots in the Kashmir Valley.

According to local sources, the Hindutva groups called a ‘Jan Akrosh’ march to express anguish against the dastardly attack. The march was followed by a public meeting at the city’s Town Hall.

Speaking to mediapersons, Mr. Rakesh, the national spokesperson of the Tikait faction of the BKU, said when he was moving towards the stage, he was heckled by a group of people holding saffron flags and sticks. “I could not listen to their exact words, but they were protesting against my presence.”

‘Planned move’

Citing a video of the incident, Mr. Rakesh’s supporters alleged that an attempt was made to hit him on the head with a stick after his turban came off in the melee. “It seemed like a planned move to break the unity of farmers. If the meeting was called for only the members of a particular party and ideology, we should have been told in advance,” he said, adding some of the protesters were drunk.

Mr. Rakesh said the BKU would hold a tractor rally to express solidarity with the families of the victims of the terror attack.