Tikait said that both the slogans used to be raised earlier during the time of his father, Mahendra Singh Tikait.
After the Kisan Mahapanchayat in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar, clipped video of farmer leader Rakesh Tikait chanting “Allahu-Akbar” [God is (the) greatest] is being widely shared with some misleading claims.
Priti Gandhi, the former national in-charge of social media for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Mahila Morcha, shared the cropped video and asked: “But seriously, what has “Allah hu Akbar” got to do with #FarmLaws???”
But seriously, what has "Allah hu Akbar" got to do with #FarmLaws??? pic.twitter.com/gGrdreYDrw
— Priti Gandhi – प्रीति गांधी (@MrsGandhi) September 5, 2021
The video was also shared by the official handle of Panchjanya, the weekly magazine published by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Delhi BJP spokesperson Ajay Sehrawat and author and right-wing commentator Shefali Vaidya.
However, Mr Tikait, in his speech, had urged farmers and their supporters gathered for the ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’ to chant ‘Allah hu Akbar’ and ‘Har har Mahadev’ to show solidarity. The mahapanchayat, called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, witnessed a massive turnout of farmers, not just from UP, but also from adjoining states of Uttarakhand, Haryana and Punjab.
While speaking at the gathering, Bharatiya Kisan Union spokesperson Tikait said these chants had been previously raised together and will be raised together in future too. Tikait said that both the slogans used to be raised earlier during the time of his father, Mahendra Singh Tikait.
By raising slogans of Allahu Akbar and Har Har Mahadev, Rakesh Tikait has given the message of unity. #किसान_महापंचायत_मुजफ्फरनगर #Farmers_RoaringInUP pic.twitter.com/pQHjnFX2wD
— Pravin Gavit (@praveengavit11) September 6, 2021
Attacking the saffron party, Mr Tikait said: “These people (BJP) have always worked to divide people and are responsible for riots. We will have to stop them. We will have to work constructively. We will not give our Uttar Pradesh in the hands of those responsible for riots.”
“We started our fight against the three black farm laws, the movement would have been killed on 28th January. There was a force of thousands and we were outnumbered, but we didn’t give up,” Mr Tikait said.
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