MEERUT: Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader
Rakesh Tikait
took a swipe at the BJP-led government and said it was "trying to seek votes from the
Ukraine
war". He added: "They have even named this evacuation exercise '
Operation Ganga
' and made all evacuees make speeches in favour of the government."
The farmer leader, who visited
Baraut
in Baghpat on Wednesday, said, "Only those who are praising the government are shown, but what about those who speakthe truth? So many videos of serious problems faced by students are now surfacing." Tikait also raised the issue of exorbitant flight fares charged by airlines days before the Russia-Ukraine war. "How can they allow airlines to extract thrice the fare? How can they make money at the time of such a crisis?" he questioned.
"Are polls more important than those kids stuck there? Even the ministers sent to countries bordering
Russia
will be used for photo ops, thinking it might help garner more votes in the coming phases," he said.
Tikait said he doesn't trust the "govt machinery involved in vote counting" and appealed to farmers to reach counting centres on Mar 9. "Take your tractors and reach vote counting centres a day before counting begins, because then you will not be allowed to reach there. There are chances of fudging. My point is to keep an eye," he added.
Sandeep Rai is a veteran journalist with two decades of experienc...
Read MoreSandeep Rai is a veteran journalist with two decades of experience in the reporting field. He heads the Western Uttar Pradesh bureau, managing Meerut, Bareilly & Agra circles. His areas of interest are wildlife, politics and special reportage.
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