The national capital became a hub of controversies and violence today as the farmers’ tractor rally took a sharp U-turn and ignited ruckus across the city boundary, allegedly provoked by anti-social elements.
The rally began at 8 am itself despite their earlier plans of starting it after the formal Republic day celebrations ended at 11.30 am. Several farmers and policemen got injured in the clashes that took place following the commencement of the tractor procession, which saw the participation of thousands of farmers who entered the city on foot.
Veering from its original route, the rally headed towards the Red Fort and hoisted a religious Sikh flag on the monument. Many even climbed up the ramparts of the iconic construction while others could be seen raising the national flag.
The police opened tear gas on the farmers and resorted to a lathi charge in order to remove the farmers from the Red Fort. Once out, they reached the Ramlila Maidan, the venue previously planned for the rally.
Here are the top developments enveloping the matter:
- A 30-year-old farmer from Uttarakhand died after his speeding tractor overturned, according to reports. However, his counterparts claimed that Navneet Singh was killed in police firing and as such, held a sit-in to protest against it in the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg.
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Internet, the major communication medium during tense times, has been suspended in some parts of Delhi. Social media flooded with people sharing screenshots of the message they received on the internet services front by the government. It read as, “As per government instructions, Internet services have been stopped in your area till further notice.” The ban has been out in place in the Singhu border, Ghazipur, Tikri, Nangloi, and Mukarba Chowk areas till 11.59 pm on January 26th, the Union Home Ministry said.
- Amit Shah and other authorities have held a high-level meeting to discuss and review the security to tackle the farmers’ protest rally that took a violent turn. Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and Delhi Police Commissioner SN Srivastava became a part of the meeting where the Home Minister was briefed about the events that followed since the farmers changed their plans and started the rally early morning even before the formal celebrations began. There could also be the deployment of the parliamentary troops during the discussion.
- Visuals from Akshardham of the national capital showed over 5000 protestors crowding on the outskirts while cops fired tear gas shells from an overbridge. Protestors were seen trying to look for a shield to protect themselves. Meanwhile, at Mukarba Chowk, policemen were pelted with stones while in Nangloi, the Riot Control Police stood alert.
- After the policemen dragged the farmers out of the monument, a protestor was quoted by NDTV saying, “We came here to deliver a message to the Modi government, our job is done. We will go back now.” While another said, “We managed to reach the fort even though they tried to stop us. We will not stop till we reach our goal — the repeal of the three farm laws.”
- The original distance to be covered was around 60 km surrounding the Singhu, Ghazipur, Tikri areas with the permission of the Delhi Police. Despite the consistent assurances of the farmers about the rally being peaceful, things become ugly after an association, the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, who was also participating in the rally, barged their own plans on Monday evening while refusing to stick to the one planned earlier.
- Soon after the areas swelled up with protestors creating havoc, the Delhi Police increased attempts to maintain the peace. However, a police bus was hijacked next in ITO of Central Delhi.
- Metro Stations of several areas were inaccessible by the public after the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation ordered to shut the gates. The Delhi Police issued notices regarding the traffic movement as they sealed it from Yudhistir Bridge to Seelam Pur(both carriageways). Traffic has been diverted from Geeta Colony & Signature Bridge.
- Rahul Gandhi condemned the violence as he said it won’t fetch anything. The Congress leader tweeted saying, “Violence is not the solution to any problem. If anyone gets hurt, our nation will suffer. Take back the anti-farmer law for the benefit of the country!”
- Many farmers’ bodies also called out the incident. One of them, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha stated, “Despite all our efforts, some organizations and individuals have violated the route and indulged in condemnable acts. Anti-social elements had infiltrated the otherwise peaceful movement. We have always held that peace is our biggest strength and that any violation would hurt the movement. The long struggle for more than 6 months now, and more than 60 days of protest at Delhi borders also seemed to have led to this situation.” The organization that originally planned the rally has distanced itself from the chaos.
- The Police had issued notices and warnings against the rally turning violent despite farmers insisting that it won’t. Deependra Pathak, Special Commissioner of Police (Intelligence), said at a news conference, “Mischievous elements can create a law-and-order situation.” “Over 300 Twitter handles have been generated from Pakistan during January 13 to 18 to disrupt the tractor rally by farmers only by misleading people. There are inputs about the same from different agencies too. It will be a challenging task for us, but the rally will be conducted amid tight security after the Republic Day parade is over,” he added. Sources had said that there were chances of interferences and disturbances from the Pakistan-based ISI with “rogue elements from Khalistani groups”.
