Our tractors will march alongside Army tanks: Rakesh Tikait on Farmers participation in Republic Day parade

The Centre and the Farmers will hold the eighth round of talks on January 8 to explore the possibilities of resolving the dispute between the two parties.

Both have locked horn on the issue of three farm laws. The farmers are demanding to repeal the three laws enacted by the Centre and introduce a provision of a guarantee in the form of law on the minimum support price.

The seventh rounds of talk remained inconclusive as the Centre didn’t agree to accept the farmers' demand. They have threatened that if the government will not agree to their demands, they will march to Delhi on January 26 on the Republic Day.

National Spokesperson of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), Rakesh Tikait has said that farmers will participate in the Republic Day parade with their tractors.

“Our tractors will march alongside Army tanks on the Republic Day. In one row, tanks will move and in other two rows, tractors will move,” Tikait said.

Adds a protesting farmer, “What’s the problem if we take part in the parade. We are food producers of the country. In fact, the government should invite us to take part in.”

A committee of ministers – Agriculture Minister Narender Singh Tomer; Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Prakash – will mee the representatives of 40 farmers organisations.

There are reports that Home Minister Amit Shah might join the ministerial committee.

A day before the eighth round of talks, thousands of farmers carried out a tractor rally around the Delhi border. They said that it was a dress rehearsal for their Republic Day parade.