Naresh Tikait

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Naresh Tikait is the president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU). Naresh took over the command of BKU after the demise of his father, Mahendra Singh Tikait, in 2011.Naresh Tikaits father was a prominent farmers leader in North India, who founded the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) in 1986, replacing Punjab Khetibari Union (a farmers organisation formed by Chaudhary Charan Singh in 1978). Mahendra Singh Tikait fought for the rights of farmers till his last breath and was considered a messiah by farmers of India. Chaudhary Mahendra Singh Tikait delivering a speech to thousands of farmer protesters at Meeruts CDA ground in 1988.Naresh Tikait also inherited the presidentship of Baliyan Khap of Jaats from his father. He acquired the throne as per the rule of Baliyan Khap, which says that only the eldest son can inherit the post of his father. Naresh also received the BKU presidents post according to this rule of Baliyan Khap.Although Naresh was elected as the president of Bharatiya Kisan Union after his fathers death, it is said that all the major decisions of the farmers organisation are taken by his younger brother Rakesh Tikait, who has been associated with the organisation as its national spokesperson since 1997.The heredity title Tikait, carried Naresh and his family members, has been inherited by them from Harshavardhana, a seventh-century Jaat ruler of Thanesar. The title was first given to the Chaudhary (head) of Baliyan Khap, and the tradition has continued since then.Ever since Naresh took over the command as the president of BKU in 2011, he has been actively fighting for the rights of farmers and has been involved in many pro-farmers movements that have taken place in Uttar Pradesh and its adjacent states.Naresh was a part of the farmers Kranti Yatra that was held in 2018 under the banner of Bhartiya Kisan Union. The movement demanded unconditional loan waiver for farmers, approval of dues by sugar mill owners, higher prices for crops, free electricity for farms, a cut in diesel prices, and implementation of the Swaminathan Committee report. As the procession of thousands of farmers reached the Delhi border, it clashed with the Delhi Police who were trying to stop them from entering the national capital. Kisan Kranti Yatra at Delhi border After hours-long faceoff between police and farmers, ministers from the union government held negotiation talks with Tikait and other farmers leaders, asking them to withdraw the Yatra. BKU agreed to the assurance of the union government to form a committee that would look into the demands of farmers, and therefore, the Yatra came to an end.In August 2019, Naresh Tikait, who belongs to Raghuvanshi gotra, claimed that the people of his gotra are heirs of Lord Rama. He was one among the many people claiming Lord Ramas legacy. [7]NDTV.In 2020, Naresh Tikait also supported the 2020-21 Farmers protests in which his younger brother, Rakesh Tikait, was a prominent face. Naresh also visited the protest site occasionally. Naresh Tikait addressing farmers during their protest against the new farm laws, at Ghazipur Border on 23 December 2020.On 28 January 2020, Naresh Tikait announced that he will call off the farmers protests at Ghazipur border, where most of the BKU supporters were present. The statement was contrary to his younger brothers stance, who was not willing to end the agitation until the government fulfils the demands set by Sanyukt Kisan Morcha. However, Naresh changed his stance the same day in the evening after a video of Rakesh Tikait sobbing while talking to media correspondents at Ghazipur protest site went viral. Subsequently, Naresh announced that the farmers protests will go on until farmers demands are met.