Lakhimpur Kheri incident : Deal was reached keeping Tikait in front

Lakhimpur : The Uttar Pradesh government acted swiftly ensuring that the farmers stopped protesting within 24 hours. The man who helped them achieve this was Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait, and a group of senior officers who have dealt with the western UP leader over the years.

Sources said, that these officers along with others roped in Tikait for conciliation, ensured he reached Lakhimpur Kheri as soon as possible, and arranged the meet of Rakesh Tikait and farmers. The negotiations began at around 1.30 am on Monday and ended around 2 pm, nearly 12 hours later.

On Tuesday, after a compromise truce struck between Tikait and the government a day earlier threatened to collapse as families of the four dead farmers refused to cremate the bodies, it was Tikait who took the mantle of visiting each family to convince them.

Except the body of farmer Gurvinder Singh which will undergo a second autopsy now as the family suspected he was shot, the bodies of the three other farmers were cremated on Tuesday evening after Tikait’s intervention. Tikait also visited the family of the slain journalist, Raman Kashyap, and said Kashyap “was very much a farmer too”. On Monday, Tikait had a joint press conference with UP’s top cop Prashant Kumar.

Tikait asked the officers coordinating with him from Lucknow to keep opposition leaders away as that could create difficulties for him and make convincing the farmers harder. The Yogi Adityanath government blocked roads, stopped aircraft from landing and detained leaders to ensure the Opposition couldn’t make it to the site, even on Tuesday.

Tikait’s role is significant as he is the face of the farm protests in UP.  In the poll-bound state, these protests are largely concentrated in the western districts, where the Tikait family have long called the shots. An officer present at the site said that at no point Tikait showed aggression or criticized government. He left Lakhimpur Kheri only after the protesters had dispersed.

“The role played by Tikait is very strange. He was the only one allowed entry into Lakhimpur by the UP government. It was very surprising that the families agreed to a Rs 45 lakh compensation and gave permission for a post-mortem without pressing upon for the arrest of the Union minister’s son who has in fact not been arrested even till now. Our conversations with the families show they just listened to Tikait,” an opposition leader.

Officers said that meeting was held over three stages. First, Lakhimpur Kheri District Magistrate Arvind Chaurasiya and Superintendent of Police Vijay Dhull held talks with the farmer delegation, which was led by Tikait and comprised two of his confidants and four local Sikh farmers. They met thrice, with intervals in the middle.

Then, as per the strategy that had been worked out, Lucknow Range IG Lakshmi Singh and Divisional Commissioner Ranjan Kumar took over, holding meetings spread over several rounds.

The Tikait team put forth three demands – registration of a murder case against Union minister Ajay Mishra and his son Ashish (the farmers have alleged that Ashish was driving the car that ploughed through a group of protesters, leaving four dead); presentation of the FIR copy immediately; compensation of Rs. 1 crore to the kin of each of the deceased farmers; and government job to one member of their family in their native district.

The officers assured that the case would be lodged, but asked them to reduce the compensation demand and offer a government job. However, for a long time the Tikait-led delegation didn’t budge.

Around 1 pm, a team of Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture, Devesh Chaturvedi, ADG, Law & Order, Prashant Kumar, and ADG, Lucknow Zone, S N Sabat went in to talk to the farmers, armed with a copy of the FIR against Ashish, reportedly after a final go-ahead from Lucknow to strike a deal. The family members of the deceased farmers were also present at this meeting. The compensation amount was amicably finalised at Rs 45 lakh for families of those deceased and Rs 10 lakh for those injured. Top officers in Lucknow also talked to Tikait and a Sikh farmer leader from Punjab.

The team of senior officers reportedly did not want a press briefing on the final deal, but Tikait insisted on it. He told the media that farmers were ending their agitation over Sunday’s incident, and went on to address the farmers.