Farmers Movement Archive

Centre holds farmers’ unions responsible

NEW DELHI: The Centre held Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella body representing farmers’ unions, responsible for the mayhem in the city on Republic Day, and said almost all the major components reneged on their commitment to take a peaceful tractor march along the routes they had worked out with Delhi Police. “They are all signatories to the agreement and are to be held liable for unprovoked violence, rioting, damage to public property, assault on police personnel and the shameful incident at Red Fort. The reality remains that none of the farmers’ unions stuck to the routes they had agreed to. Besides, though they were to enter Delhi after 12 noon, they started breaking the barricades in the morning itself even before the parade had started and forced their way in from unapproved routes. It seems they had no plan to stick to the routes, and came prepared for the chaos and violence, armed with lathis and rods,” said an officer, emphasising that farm leaders were nowhere to be seen at any of the trouble spots when the mob ran amok. The determination is significant in view of attempts by unions to blame the violence and chaos on alleged “outsiders” who infiltrated their protests and figures who were not represented in the SKM. Sources said while the police and agencies had apprehended mischief by certain groups, they were not prepared for a situation where the signatories failed to keep the commitment on a day when their resources were spread thin because of the R-Day security requirements. With the situation taking a sharp turn, leading to the ugly spectacle of rioters planting the Khalsa flag on Red Fort, home minister Amit Shah ordered deployment of central forces in the Capital and adjoining areas. At a review meeting after his ministry ordered the suspension of internet services in areas from where trouble makers had congregated and tried to gatecrash into the city, officials briefed him about the role of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee led by Satnam Singh Pannu and Sarwan Singh Pandher, the Ugrahan group, the BKU faction led by Rakesh Tikait and other groups, sources said. The meeting, attended by home secretary Ajay Bhalla, Delhi Police commissioner S N Srivastava and the Intelligence Bureau director, agreed that the numbers of Delhi Police, which had a good chunk of its force tied up with Republic Day security duties, needed to be augmented without delay. Accordingly, a decision was taken to bring in central paramilitary reinforcements for deployment in Delhi and border areas of Haryana and UP. Sources said Delhi Police personnel were outnumbered by the protesting farmers as they reneged on their pact on the routes and timing of the rally. “Delhi Police personnel were already deployed in huge numbers for Republic Day security. Barricades were put up and police personnel deployed mostly along the agreed routes for the rally. While barricades were posted in ITO area in view of Republic Day, the barricading fell short in areas like Red Fort, which led to the unfortunate turn of events there. It took the authorities some time to find and deploy additional paramilitary forces and this resulted in the tractor rally turning chaotic at Red Fort. The situation was brought under control by evening,” an officer said. Sources said the mobile internet ban may be extended further if the situation demanded.

The Times of India

2021-01-27

Delhi