Rakesh Tikait, Face of Farmers’ Protest, Owns Wealth Worth Rs 80 Cr, Assets Spread across 13 Cities

Rakesh Tikait, the man who has now emerged as the face of the farmers’ protest against the Centre’s farm reform laws, was once a constable with the Delhi Police before he decided to enter multiple businesses. While the average monthly income of farmers, the Bharatiya Kisan Union is representing, is as low as 6400 rupees, Tikait reportedly owns wealth worth of Rs 80 crore.

According to a report published in the DNA, Tikait has assets across four states, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra and Delhi. Besides, he has properties spread across 13 cities, including Muzaffarnagar, Lalitpur, Jhansi, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bijnor, Badaun, Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Dehradun, Roorkee, Haridwar, and Mumbai.

Tikait owns a range of businesses like petrol pumps, brick kilns, showrooms, etc., the report said. The BKU leader has two daughters — Seema and Jyoti. The latter lives in Australia and had reportedly organised a rally in support of the protesting farmers in Melbourne on February 8.

The protest against the newly introduced farming laws have been going on at the borders of Delhi, mainly by the farmers of Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh for over four months now. The Opposition, including the Congress party, has thrown its weight behind the protesting farmers.

Besides, the chiefs of Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati, and other leaders have demanded withdrawal of the controversial agri reform laws.

Some reports also suggest that Tikait captured a deer, which is illegal in India and is a punishable offence. Catching and capturing any wild animal, including deer in India is a punishable offence and invites an imprisonment of seven years or an imposition of Rs 25,000 fine or both.