Bengaluru: Black ink thrown at farmer leader Rakesh Tikait
Black ink was thrown at farmer leader Rakesh Tikait during an event at the Gandhi Bhavan in Bengaluru on Monday. At the event organized by a farmers' organization, a microphone was first hurled at the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader, following which he was attacked with black ink. This led to violent clashes between the organizers and miscreants. Three attackers were arrested, said reports.
Why does this story matter?
Thousands of farmers had been camping at Delhi's borders for over a year to protest against the now-repealed central farm laws. And, Tikait was the face of these protests. The Centre had touted the three laws as pro-farmer, however, critics believed the laws would take away minimum support prices for crops and corporatize agriculture. Later, PM Narendra Modi repealed the laws in November 2021.
What happened at the event?
Tikait was reportedly holding a press conference on "Raita Chaluvali, Aatmavalokana haagu Spasteekarana Sabha (Farmer's Movement, Introspection, and Clarification Meeting)." The Karnataka State Farmers' Association and Hasiru Sene organized the event. The farmer leaders were talking about charges against Karnataka-based farmer leader Kodihalli Chandrashekar, who allegedly bribes to stop the anti-farm law protests. Reportedly, there were allegations against Tikait and other farmer leaders too.
Watch video of the clashes
Arguments between both sides
At the event, Tikait allegedly called Chandrashekhar a fraudster and said that action should be taken against him. That is when the farmers from the Chandrashekhar faction broke into an argument with Tikait and someone threw black ink at him and another farmer leader Yudhvir Singh. This enraged Tikait's supporters who caught hold of the miscreants and clashes between both sides ensued.
Tikait suffered an injury to his head
Reportedly, three people went up the stage and threw ink at Tikait and Singh. Tikait's turban, face, kurta, and a green shawl around his neck were all smeared with black ink. He also suffered a minor injury to his head. This led to violent clashes and the people present at the event thrashed the miscreants before the police arrested the three.
Tikait blames police, government
Meanwhile, Tikait accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka of conspiring the attack. He said, "Local police are responsible for it and it happened due to the connivance of the government." The organizers have expressed anger over the state police's failure to protect Tikait. They alleged the police were apprised of potential threat to Tikait but they hadn't paid heed to it.
