Punjabi singer Babbu Maan meets farmers at Ghazipur
Punjabi singer Tejinder Babbu Maan reached the Ghazipur protest site on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border on Wednesday, met the farmers and extended support to their protest against the contentious agriculture laws. Maan, who has been supporting the protest through his posts on social media, said he was ready to debate with Bollywood artists who think the movement was wrong.
All you need to know about Babbu Maan
Maan is an Indian singer-songwriter, actor, and film producer with a focus on Punjabi music and films. Some of his notable albums include Tu Meri Miss India, Talaash: In Search of Soul, Dil Ta Pagal Hain, and Hawayein.
We have to stay peaceful in the protest: Maan
"First and foremost, I am a farmer. I have not forgotten this and I will never forget this," he said, according to a statement by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU). Maan also met BKU leader Rakesh Tikait and sang a couple of his songs on stage. "We have to be together in this...but stay peaceful in the protest," he added.
Farmers will not leave the site: Tikait
Tikait said, "The government wants to prolong the protest, but the farmers are also ready for a long haul and will not leave the site until the demands are met." He added that the summer season would soon be setting in and protesters would require generators to stay put at the protest site.
'Government should provide power connections,' says Tikait
"We will be needing big generators, but if the government does not want this to happen, then it should provide us with power connections at the site and the farmers are ready to pay its bill also," Tikait said.
Protest can be continued till October or even further: Tikait
Tikait said, "If needed, protest can be continued till October or even further, and farmers will work together and strategize the demonstrations in a way that there was no loss on their farms as well." The protest continued for the 76th day with a demand that the Centre repeal the three farm laws and make a new one to ensure minimum support price.