Having avoided public appearance all through the day, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Mahendra Singh Tikait made a surprise appearance late on Tuesday evening at the Kisan Bhawan of Sisauli. With Rapid Action Force and the Provincial Armed Constabulary deployed barely a couple of kilometres outside his village, Tikait declared that the overwhelming support of his followers had given him the courage to stand up to the police and the UP Government. Minutes earlier, he had said that he was willing to hand himself over to the police to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, but the large crowd gathered there persuaded him not to do so.

All this happened two days after Tikait earned UP Chief Minister Mayawati’s ire after having used a derogatory caste term while referring to her. A case was registered against Tikait under the SC/ST Act in Bijnor, but the police failed to arrest him on Monday after his supporters resorted to violence to defend him.

Accompanying Tikait at Kisan Bhawan, Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Anuradha Chaudhary announced that she would meet the President tomorrow to demand the dismissal of the Mayawati Government. The Rashtriya Lok Dal, that projects itself as a Jat party in the region, has been quick to be seen as standing by the side of Tikait, the Chaudhary of Baliyan Khap that comprises 87 villages, including Sisauli. This, despite the fact that Ajit Singh had reportedly tried to prevent Tikait from using the derogatory caste remark against Mayawati in Bijnor on Sunday, in response to which Tikait had sarcastically replied that if Mayawati had fallen short of even four seats in the Assembly, Ajit Singh would have been the first to rush to support her. Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s brother Shivpal Singh Yadav has also supported Tikait.

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