By IANS,
New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Sunday condoled the death of prominent farmer’s leader Mahendra Singh Tikait.
In a statement, Gadkari said: “We express profound grief and sorrow on the sad demise of the renowned kisan leader Shri Mahendra Singh Tikait.”
“It is a deep loss to the farmer community,” Dikshit said, according to a statement from the chief minister’s office.
Tikait, founder president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), died in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh Sunday morning. He was 76.
Born Oct 6, 1935, Mahendra Singh Tikait emerged as a powerful farmer leader in the agriculturally rich western Uttar Pradesh in 1987 when he raised his voice for the cause of sugarcane growers.
His last formidable show of strength came in 2010, when he staged a massive panchayat in Muzaffarnagar to oppose moves in favour of intra-gotra (sub-caste) marriages.