BKU, AIKSCC withdraw from protests
NEW DELHI, Jan 27: As cracks began to appear in their ongoing agitation against the agri laws after the violence during the tractor parade, farmer unions today cancelled their planned march to Parliament on February 1 when the Budget would be presented.
They said their agitation against the farm laws will continue and public meetings and hunger strikes will be held across the country on January 30 on Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary to emphasise on peace and non-violence.
The decision by farmer unions came a day after massive violence during their tractor rally in the national capital that left nearly 400 police personnel injured, as the protesters deviated from the routes, clashed with the cops and laid siege to the Red Fort.
The farmer leaders, however, alleged that there was a conspiracy behind Tuesday’s incidents and demanded a probe.
“The tractor parade was hit by a Government conspiracy. Deep Sidhu is an RSS man. Police let him go after he hoisted a religious flag at Red Fort,” farmer leader Darshan Pal, who has been accused by the police of making inflammatory speeches, alleged at a press conference.
Sidhu is a former aide of actor and BJP MP Sunny Deol. Deol had distanced himself from Sidhu in December after he supported the farmers’ agitation.
“We have cancelled our plan for a march to Parliament on budget day on February 1. But our agitation will continue and there will be public meetings and hunger strike across the country on January 30, ” Pal said.
Another farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal claimed that over two lakh tractors and lakhs of people participated in Tuesday’s parade and “99.9 percent of the protesters were peaceful”.
Even as the farmer unions continued to allege that “anti-social” elements had perpetrated the violence to “torpedo” their peaceful agitation against the farm laws, Tuesday’s incidents that have been widely condemned started taking a toll with Bharatiya Kisan Union (Bhanu) and All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee withdrawing from the protests on the Delhi’s borders.
Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav, who has been supporting the farmers’ agitation, said, “We regret the Red Fort incident and accept its moral responsibility. The incident should be probed. There is a conspiracy behind it.”
Responding to a question on farmer leaders being named in FIR, Yadav said, “FIR, jail and torture are rewards of movements”.
“We have video clippings and we will expose how a conspiracy was hatched to defame our movement,” Shivkumar Kakka said.
As many as 37 farmer leaders, including Rakesh Tikait, Yogendra Yadav, Darshan Pal, Medha Patkar and Gurnam Singh Chaduni, have been named in an FIR in connection with the violence during the tractor parade.
Wielding sticks and clubs and holding the tricolour and union flags, tens of thousands of farmers atop tractors broke barriers, clashed with police and entered the city from various points to lay siege to the Red Fort on the Republic Day.
Farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at several Delhi border points, including Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur, since November 28, demanding a complete repeal of three farm laws and a legal guarantee on minimum support price for their crops.
“The conspiracy to defame a peaceful movement of last seven months is now exposed in front of the public. Along with some individuals and organizations, like Deep Sidhu and Kisan Majdoor Sangarsh Committee led by S Satnam Singh Pannu, the government made this movement violent.
“We clarify again that we dissociate ourselves from the violent actions which took place at Red Fort and other parts of Delhi,” Pal said at the press conference.
He alleged that the incident of “orchestrated”.
“The parade of the farmers was predominantly peaceful and on the agreed-upon route. We strongly condemn the insult to national symbols, but the farmers’ movement cannot be painted as ‘violent’ as violence was done by a few anti-social elements, who are not associated with us.
“Farmers from all borders reached their original place (of protest) after peacefully completing their respective parades yesterday itself,” he added.
Meanwhile, farmer leaders Rakesh Tikait, Yogendra Yadav and Darshan Pal and social activist Medha Patkar were among the 37 people named by the Delhi police in an FIR on the violence during the tractor parade here that includes attempt to murder charge even as two farmer unions on Wednesday said they are withdrawing from the protests against the farm laws.
Delhi Police Commissioner S N Srivastava said 19 people have been arrested while 50 people were detained for questioning.
Srivastava alleged at a news conference that some farmer leaders like Satnam Singh Pannu, Darshan Pal and Buta Singh gave inflammatory speeches. He warned that no culprit will be spared.
Srivastava said 25 criminal cases have been registered so far while 394 personnel of the Delhi police were injured and 30 police vehicles damaged.
He said the farmer unions did not follow the conditions set for the tractor rally that was supposed to be held from 12 noon to 5 pm and accused them of betrayal. The condition of a maximum of 5,000 tractors in the march was also not followed by the protesting unions, he added.
As police try to identify culprits involved in the violence through CCTV footage and face recognition system, the FIR showed that the people named in the FIR included Medha Patkar, Yogendra Yadav, Darshan Pal, Kulwant Singh Sandhu, Satnam Singh Pannu, Joginder Singh Ugraha, Surjeet Singh Phool, Jagjeet Singh Dalewal, Balbir Singh Rajewal, Harinder Singh Lakhoval, Gurnam Singh Chanduni and Rakesh Tikait.
The FIR registered at Samaypur Badli was filed against unknown persons.
It mentions multiple IPC sections, including 307 (attempt to murder), 147 (rioting) and 353 (assault/criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 120B (criminal conspiracy).
In one of the FIRs, a Delhi Police cop claimed that some protesters tried to kill him by riding a tractor on the barricades.
Srivastava said not a single life was lost as the Delhi Police showed extreme restraint, adding that the farmer leaders will be questioned in connection with the violence.
“Police had many options, but remained calm. We dealt with the situation in a proper way that is why no one was killed due to police action during tractor rally violence.” One protester was killed after a tractor over turned.
A police official said the violence will be investigated by a joint team of crime branch, special cell, district units of Delhi Police. (PTI)
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