Aligarh, December 5
Farmers Protest: The release of detained farmer leaders, including Rakesh Tikait, is a victory for democracy against dictatorship, the United Kisan Morcha (SKM) said in a statement on Thursday, saying that preventing Tikait from attending the Kisan Panchayat on Wednesday was a denial of his fundamental rights. It said that the Yogi Adityanath government was forced to release Tikait, Rupesh Verma, Sukhbir Khalifa and Sunil Fauzi because of the unity of the farmers’ movement.
It said that the protest at ‘Zero Point’ in Greater Noida will continue till all the demands of the protesting farmers are met. BKU-Tikait leader Rakesh Tikait and several other leaders were detained at Tapal police station in Aligarh on Wednesday and released the same evening. Farmers have been protesting against the state administration and local officials over the alleged refusal to provide compensation and other benefits for the land acquired by the state government in the past. They took out a ‘Delhi Chalo’ march on Monday but were stopped by the police after which they sat on a dharna at the Dalit Prerna Sthal. News-Patiala