Farmer leader Tikait's last rites performed

The body of farmer leader and Bharatiya Kisan Union chief Mahendra Singh Tikait, who died after prolonged battle with bone cancer, was on Monday cremated at his birth place Sisauli in Muzaffarnagar.

The last rites were performed in accordance with Hindu tradition by Tikait's eldest son Naresh who lit the pyre at the BKU headquarters. The cremation was attended by scores of political leaders including Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Tikait, who spearheaded many a struggle uniting peasants in north India, died on Sunday due to bone cancer at the age of 76. He was suffering from the disease since last year and breathed his last at the residence of his son and BKU General Secretary Rakesh Tikait in Muzaffarnagar.

Besides hundreds of farmers, Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Minister Chaudhary Laxmi Narayan, Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan and other political leaders attended Tikait's funeral.

According to BKU sources, a memorial for Tikait will be built at the headquarters.

A large number of people paid tributes to the farmer leader after the body was brought to his Sisauli residence from Muzaffarnagar on Sunday night.