Farmers Movement Archive

'Those who created violence will have to pay for their deeds': Rakesh Tikait

Rakesh Tikait, leader of the Bharat Kisan Union (BKU), on Wednesday said that those who created violence during the tractor rally and unfurled flags at the Red Fort have to pay for their deeds."Those who created violence and unfurled flags at Red Fort will have to pay for their deeds. For the last two months, a conspiracy is going on against a particular community. This is not a movement of Sikhs, but farmers," Tikait told news agency ANI.He said uneducated people were driving tractors and they didn't know the routes of Delhi."Administration told them the way towards Delhi. They went to Delhi and returned home. Some of them unknowingly deflected towards Red Fort. Police guided them to return," Tikait added.Tikait said that those who broke barricading will never be a part of the movement."Deep Sidhu is not a Sikh, he is a worker of the Bharatiya Janata Party. There is a picture of him with the Prime Minister. This is a movement of farmers and will remain so. Some people will have to leave this place immediately- those who broke barricading will never be a part of the movement," he said.Talking about the viral video where Tikait was seen appealing to his supporters to be armed with lathis, he said, "We said bring your own sticks. Please show me a flag without a stick, I will accept my mistake."Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body coordinating the farmer protests, called off the 'Kisan Republic Day Parade' yesterday evening and appealed to all the participants to return to their respective protest sites. It announced that the movement will “continue peacefully”. The SKM had held several rounds of meetings with the Delhi Police in connection with their tractor parade.Meanwhile, the Delhi Police said that it has registered 22 FIRs so far in connection with the violence.The police said that the farmers had given an undertaking to take out a peaceful rally. However, around 8.30 am yesterday, around 7,000 tractors assembled at the Singhu border and instead of going on the pre-decided route, the farmers insisted upon going towards central Delhi.Despite repeated requests, the farmers had allegedly charged at the police and broke through the barricades, which were erected between Mukarba Chowk and Transport Nagar, the police had said.Similar incidents were reported from Ghazipur and Tikri borders. The farmers at the Ghazipur border broke through the barricades and headed for ITO, where they were joined by th farmers who had come from the Singhu border.At Red Fort, they broke the gates and entered its wells. A section of the crowd also managed to climb atop the rampart of the fort, where they hoisted their organisation's flag, the police said.

Hindustan Times

27-01-2021

India