Farmers' rally: Samyukt Kisan Morcha calls off tractor parade with immediate effect

A visual from Delhi tractor rally | Credit: Diwakar Sharma

Police used tear gas on farmers at Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar in New Delhi as farmers' tractor rally arrived there on Tuesday. Farmers also broke the barricading at Delhi-Haryana tikri border as they began their rally as part of the ongoing protest against the new agriculture laws on the occasion of Republic Day. They are heading towards Kanjhawala Chowk-Auchandi border-KMP-GT road junction.

Hundreds of farmers, comprising mostly the youths removed the barricades forcefully even as senior members in the groups were seen persuading them not to take matters into their hands and protest in a peaceful manner.

The youths also defied the conditions put by the farmers' unions as they played loud music and rode their tractors at high speed on the highway that connects Delhi with Uttar Pradesh.

Thousands of farmers marched into the national capital on foot and while riding tractors, even as paramilitary forces and Delhi Police personnel kept a wary eye on the evolving situation.

A senior police officer said that farmers began their rally before the scheduled time between 12 pm and 5 pm once the "official" Republic Day celebrations were over.

Kisan Congress Vice Chairman Surender Solanki, who is leading a protest by farmers at the Tikri border, told IANS: "Thousands of farmers have been assembling at the Tikri border since 3 am today for the tractor parade."

"Around 6 am, we began our tractor parade with hundreds of tractors. And we also removed the barricades put at the Jharoda border."

A temporary wall has been erected to seal the Karnal bypass to stop the entry of vehicles into the national capital.

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• Legal action to be taken against those who assaulted police during farmers' tractor rally, said Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police
• Samyukt Kisan Morcha calls off tractor parade with immediate effect, appeals participants to return to their respective protest sites, reports PTI
• The Delhi government-run hospital's Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ritu Saxena, told IANS that eight policemen and 12 farmers are currently receiving treatment and a few of them have sustained serious injuries. "Some have fractured their legs, hands and also suffered blows on their heads. We are treating them in an emergency ward," she said. "However, no one is in critical condition," she added.
• Sources in Delhi police have told mid-day that the violent protestors will be identified and cases may be registered against them under relevant sections of IPC.
• NCP leader Sharad Pawar has slammed the central government and asked it take the right decision in view of the clashes in Delhi.

• Condemning the violence at farmers' protest, Aam Aadmi Party said it is regrettable that the central government allowed the situation to deteriorate to such an extent. "Farmer leaders have said that those who indulged in violence today were not part of the movement and were external elements. Whoever they were, the violence has certainly weakened the movement which was going on so peacefully and in a disciplined manner," said AAP.

• Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut slammed the Union government, saying the government didn't listen to the protesting farmers till the end.

• Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also condemned the incident, saying any violence in a democracy is not acceptable.

• Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said although he supports the farmers' protest, he cannot condone lawlessness.

• The meeting is also trying to zero in upon the individuals responsible for triggering the violence and provoking the farmers during the tractor parade, especially those behind hoisting a pennant at Red Fort. Besides, the security arrangements in the border areas of Delhi are also being reviewed.

• Deliberations are underway to strengthen the security apparatus. According to intelligence inputs, some 'organised groups' are behind the violence.

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday called an emergency meeting at his residence over the violence that rocked parts of Delhi. According to sources, senior officers of Delhi Police are present at the meeting that has been called to take stock of the security arrangements.

• The telecom operators like Jio, Airtel and Idea alerted their customers through messages about the disrupted Internet services. "As per the government instructions Internet services have been stopped in your areas till further notice," said a message received from Jio in a particular area where Internet services were barred.

• The Ministry of Home Affairs in an order also suspended Internet services at Singhu, Ghazipur, Tikri, Mukarba Chowk and Nangloi, along with their adjoining areas, till 11.59 p.m. for maintaining 'public safety'.

• Internet services snapped in some parts of Delhi-NCR in view of the prevailing law and order situation.

• Police removed protesting farmers from Red Fort premises. Chaos reigned for nearly 90 minutes as some protesters, including 'Nihangs' (traditional Sikh warriors), forced their way into the Red Fort and hoisted a flag, reports PTI. The police later resorted to lathi-charge to vacate the Red Fort premises. Continuous announcements were being made asking the protesters to leave the complex peacefully.

• Samyukta Kisan Morcha said that despite all efforts, some organisations and individuals violated route and indulged in condemnable acts. "Anti-social elements had infiltrated the otherwise peaceful movement. We've always held that peace is our biggest strength and any violation would hurt the movement. We thank farmers for the unprecedented participation in today's Farmers Republic Day Parade. We also condemn and regret the undesirable and unacceptable events that have taken place today and dissociate ourselves from those indulging in such acts," the farmers' union said.

• After breaching barricades at Nangloi, protesting farmers are now taking designated route towards Najafgarh.

• We know the people who are trying to create disturbance, they are identified. There are people from political parties who are trying to malign the agitation, said Rakesh Tikait.

• Protestors enter Red Fort, wave flags from the ramparts of the fort.

• Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said violence is not the solution to any problem.

• Protesting farmers reach Red Fort in Delhi, heading towards India Gate.

• Delhi Police issued traffic. Traffic diversions and alternative routes have been posted on Twitter by the police.

• Visuals from ITO in central Delhi as protesting farmers reach after changing the route.

• Delhi police personnel lathicharge protesters in Delhi as they jump over barricades.

• A Delhi Police personnel rescued by protesters as a section of protesters attempted to assault him at ITO in central Delhi.

• The entry/exit gates of ITO Metro station and Delhi Gate Metro station have also been closed.
• The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation closed entry/exit gates of Samaypur Badli, Rohini Sector 18/19, Haiderpur Badli Mor, Jahangir Puri, Adarsh Nagar, Azadpur, Model Town, GTB Nagar, Vishwavidyalaya, Vidhan Sabha and Civil Lines. Also, entry/exit gates of Indraprastha Metro station and all stations on the Green Line are closed.
• Protesters break barricade, attack police personnel and vandalise police vehicles at ITO in central Delhi.

• Rally is going on peacefully. I don't have any knowledge of it. We are at Ghazipur and are releasing the traffic here, said Rakesh Tikait, spokesperson of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) when asked about incidents of violence at some locations.
• Protesting farmers vandalise a DTC bus in ITO area.

• As soon as farmers reached near the Akshardham intersection on the Delhi-Meerut Highway, police fired tear-gas shells. The farmers then indulged in stone-pelting to break windscreens of passing trucks as well as DTC buses parked on the road.

• Protesters seen climbing on top of a police van at Mukarba Chowk in Delhi

• "They have cooperated with us and we are cooperating with them. It is our request that they continue to follow the route they are currently on," SS Yadav, Joint Commissioner of Police at Singhu Border told ANI.

• "We have to move towards Ring Road but police is stopping us. We've given them 45 mins to speak to their seniors. We're carrying out a peaceful parade. The route they are asking us to follow wasn't agreed upon," Satnam Singh Pannu, Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee at Singhu Border told ANI.

• The rally reached Swaroop Nagar from Singhu Border. In a bid to boost their moral, flowers were showered on the protesting farmers,

At Swaroop Nagar in New Delhi. Pic/ Diwakar Sharma

• Farmers' tractors with tricolour are set to take out rally in protest against the Centre's farm laws from the Chilla border on Delhi-Noida Link road.

• Security has been tightened in the national capital with police barricades mounted at various important places in the city including ITO, Yamuna Bridge and other locations.

Flag hoisting at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on Tuesday. Pic/ Pradeep Dhivar

• Special Commissioner of Police (CP), Intelligence in Delhi Police, Dependra Pathak has said on Sunday, "The tractor rally will enter Delhi from Tikri, Singhu, and Ghazipur borders and return to its originating points. From Singhu, it will pass through Kanjhawala, Bawana, Auchandi border, KMP Expressway, and then return to Singhu."

Farmers have been protesting on the different borders of the national capital since November 26 against the three newly enacted farm laws - Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. The eleventh round of talks between farmers and the government was held on Friday.

The talks of farmer unions and the government have seemingly broken down after the former insisted on their demand for the repeal of three new farm laws and the latter asked them to reconsider its offer to put these laws on hold for about 18 months. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Monday said that the agitation against the farm laws which has been going on for almost two months will end soon.

(With inputs from agencies)