Prominent face of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, Rakesh Tikait has echoed Rahul Gandhi’s charge of “vote theft”, accusing the BJP of coming to power dishonestly in 2014 and of seeking to dispossess farmers of their land.
Speaking at a Kisan Mahapanchayat in Bareilly, the BKU national spokesperson declared: “Rahul Gandhi is right. People have been stealing votes since the 2014 election. We had already said five years ago that the government came to power dishonestly by stealing votes. Jobs are being snatched away. Schools are being closed. This government wants to take over farmers’ land.”
The fiery intervention came shortly after Gandhi alleged that elections were being “stolen” and that corruption, joblessness and institutional decay would persist unless the trend was checked. He warned that India’s youth would not tolerate “job theft” and “vote theft” indefinitely.
Also read: Capitalism is displacing farmers: Rakesh Tikait
In a social media post, Gandhi contended that unemployment had risen to a 45-year high, arguing that dishonest elections were at the root of India’s economic and social malaise. He charged that the BJP had remained in power by manipulating institutions, with the result that recruitment drives had collapsed, exam paper leaks had become routine, and young futures had been put in jeopardy.
Tikait aligned himself with that line, telling the Bareilly gathering that the mahapanchayat had been convened to “alert the authorities”. “The government has its eyes on farmers’ land. It wants to grab it and benefit the capitalists. If they don’t wake up, we will launch a massive movement,” he warned.
The Congress, for its part, has sought to turn Gandhi’s campaign against “vote theft” and unemployment into a nationwide mobilisation, while farmer leaders like Tikait are signalling that rural discontent could sharpen the contest further.
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