What Happened in Delhi at the Tractor Rally on Republic Day
As we celebrated our 72nd Republic Day on Tuesday, 26th January; farmer protests took turn for the worse. The farmers who have been protesting the center’s farm laws for a while now had decided to organize a ‘tractor march’ on 26th January. They even conducted a dress rehearsal for this march on 7th January.
As we celebrated our 72nd Republic Day on Tuesday, 26th January; farmer protests took turn for the worse. The farmers who have been protesting the center’s farm laws for a while now had decided to organize a ‘tractor march’ on 26th January. They even conducted a dress rehearsal for this march on 7th January. You can read more about it here
Unfortunately, what was supposed to be a peaceful tractor march, a display of protest, turned into a violent clash between rogue protestors and police personnel. The fateful day left several policemen injured and one protesting farmer dead.
Here’s what happened-
• The protesting farmers were supposed to take a tractor rally through three designated routes in Delhi on Day 62 of their protest against the laws.
• The conditions for the rally were pre-decided and mutually agreed upon. The rally was allowed after farm unions promised to follow the designated routes and conditions.
• However, it is reported that one of the farmer groups from the Ghazipur protest site deviated from the agreed-upon route and reached ITO, where the unrest began. Another group from the Singhu border reached the Red Fort, one of the protesters climbed the first available flag post and hoisted the Nishan Sahib, the flag of the Sikhs.
• And then violence ensued between the policemen trying to
disperse them.
• Amidst all the violence and clashes between the police and protestors, one
protesting farmer died after his tractor overturned at ITO.
• Mobile internet services were suspended in three Haryana districts of Sonipat, Jhajjar, and Palwal for 24 hours, and mobile internet was restricted in some parts of the national capital. Few metro stations were also shut down temporarily throughout the day.
While the law and order situation is slowly coming back to normal, these events definitely put the otherwise peaceful protests in a very bad light. With this breach, a 60-day peaceful protest turned ugly and changed the face of farmer struggle. It is also reported that soon after the fateful event, the ‘Samyukta Kisan Morcha’ issued a statement distancing itself from the ‘violent elements’.
Header: File image – source: https://cambridgeglobalist.org/?p=2303
Comments