Newly appointed Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi referred to protesting farmers as hooligans while talking about an alleged attack on a media person during the ‘Farmers’ Parliament’ at the Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Thursday. “They are not farmers, they are hooligans... Later, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait hit out at Lekhi said farmers are annadatas' (providers) and to call them such names is inappropriate. The farmers protesting for months along the borders of Delhi against three Central laws began their ‘Farmer Parliament’ on Thursday at the Jantar Mantar. On Republic Day, this year, a tractor rally by the protesting farmers had turned violent and many of them had occupied the Red Fort, deviating from their initially agreed upon route.

Source: Hindustan Times July 22, 2021 11:58 UTC