NEW DELHI: Despite the apex court's admonishing the tactic of road blockades, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) struck a defiant note saying that the protest of farmers would continue till the Centre scrapped the contentious three agricultural laws.
Earlier in the day, senior advocate Dushyant Dave had informed the top court that it was the police who were creating blockades and causing inconvenience to commuters.
Farmer leader and BKU national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait contended that the farmers removed a portion of tents installed on the border after the court's observation. "We are not blocking the road, it is the police which has barricaded the road and is blaming us for the traffic jams," he added.
"We already removed all the tents installed on the Ghazipur road. There was only one Parda (screen) of a tent installed near the police barricading, due to which many ambulances returned thinking the entire road was blocked. Today, we removed only that part and the remaining camping will continue to protest," Tikait said, refuting the reports which stated that the farmers were vacating the protest site at Ghazipur.
"It is being falsely reported that the farmers are vacating. We are not going anywhere till the government scrap the agricultural laws and fulfil our demands. Jab tak bill wapsi nahi hogi, kisano ki ghar wapsi nahi hogi," he said.
Similarly, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella body of all the farm unions, asserted that the court was informed that the police were barricading the roads. "The tents installed on the entrance of Ghazipur border will be removed but the farmers sitting on the portion of the flyover will continue to protest. We are discussing whether the farmers at Ghazipur will be given a place in Ramlila Maidan to protest for vacating this spot," it added.
On its part, the Delhi Police said it had not received any order from the court to remove the farmers. "We will initiate action after we get an order. Also, it is not easy to remove the farmers. We will have to discuss with our Uttar Pradesh counterparts. The farmers had clashed earlier when the police tried to remove them from the flyover," a senior officer said.