Farmers Movement Archive

Tractor parades swerve into capital chaos

By 10 a.m., at Singhu, farmers breached the barricades at the other two border protest sites as well — Tikri on the west and Ghazipur on the east. Once tractors started deviating from the agreed routes and headed towards the capital’s Outer Ring Road, however, they were met with tear gas, water cannons and lathis, in tense stand-offs with the police. The road under the Nangloi flyover in western Delhi turned into a virtual battleground for much of the afternoon as the police resorted to several rounds of tear gas shelling in a futile attempt to stop the farmers, many armed with lathis, from violating the parade route. ‘Lost way’ In eastern Delhi, some farmers claimed they lost their way and blundered into the high-security ITO area, where they engaged in a violent clash with police, with tear gas, stone-throwing and lathicharge resulting in injuries on both sides. A few farmers in tractors tried to run down police personnel, while others went on a rampage damaging buses and police vehicles. One protester, 25-year-old Ranveet Singh, died after his tractor reportedly overturned, though other protesters alleged he was killed in police firing. By early afternoon, protesters had swarmed into the Red Fort grounds and hoisted the Nishan Sahib, a flag that flies over Sikh gurdwaras, and the flag of one of the farm unions on an empty flag post, even while the tricolour flew above the ramparts of the Fort. Late at night, the police snapped power supply to the Red Fort to clear it of protesters. Sukhdev Singh Korikala, general secretary of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU)-Ekta Ugrahan, one of the largest farm unions in Punjab, told The Hindu that the hoisting of a religious flag seemed an “attempt to instigate sentiments” and was done “at the behest of the BJP-led Central government to defame the farmers’ movement” with the “connivance of the police”. Flag hoisting He said video clips revealed that the flag hoisting was done in the presence of Deep Sidhu, a Punjabi actor and activist who had campaigned for a BJP candidate in 2019. Mr. Korikala claimed this exposed the government and vowed to continue the movement until the three laws are repealed. By 7.30 p.m., SKM leaders who had returned to their border protest sites issued a statement, calling off the parade and asking participants to get back to the border sites. “Despite all our efforts, some organisations and individuals violated the route and indulged in condemnable acts. Anti-social elements infiltrated the otherwise peaceful movement. We have always held that peace is our biggest strength, and that any violation would hurt the movement,” said the SKM statement, which also blamed the long struggle for the situation. “Protesting farmers breached the agreement and began their tractor march before the scheduled time. They chose the path of violence and vandalism, and seeing that the police had to take necessary steps to maintain law and order,” said a Delhi police statement.

The Hindu

2021-01-27

New Delhi