Farmers Movement Archive

Police give nod for tractor parades in Delhi on R-Day

Thousands of farmers, including many women, have already reached the Singhu border from Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand to participate in the rally, he added. “Preparations are in full swing for disciplined conduct of the rally. We are getting a huge response from farmers. We had a meeting with police and final route of the rally has been discussed and it will be conveyed to protesters,” Mr. Kohar said. Gurnam Singh Chaduni, who heads a faction of the Bharatiya Kisan Union in Haryana, told reporters that as thousands of farmers will participate in the parade, there will be no single route. Krantikari Kisan Union president Darshan Pal said barricades set up at Delhi border points, will be removed on January 26 and farmers will take out tractor rallies after entering the national capital. It will be a peaceful rally and protesters will follow the route map agreed to during the meeting. A senior police officer said farmers have not been allowed to hold a protest on the Outer Ring Road as had been initially proposed. However, the tractors will be allowed to enter Delhi and leave along a fixed route, added the official. Earlier in the day, the protesting farmers handed over to the Haryana police a man, who they alleged, had come to kill some of the farm leaders. The suspect however, is said to have told the police that he was thrashed by a group people at the Singhu border before he was presented before the media. A video of the suspect, recorded when he was grilled by Haryana Police, has been widely circulated on social media. “On January 26, there was a plan to create disturbance during the tractor parade by opening fire on Delhi Police personnel, which would prompt them to retaliate against the protesting farmers in a strong manner,” he claimed during a press conference at the Singhu border on Friday night. A police official said the young man was being quizzed in Sonipat by the Crime Branch of the State police. The man has been residing in Sonipat and has no previous criminal record.

The Hindu

2021-01-24

January 24 2021 00:00 IST