A day after rioters disguised as ‘farmers’ created mayhem on the streets of the national capital, Congress party has jumped into the support the rioters and blamed the Delhi Police for the violence that took place in Delhi on Republic Day.
Speaking to the media, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said that Delhi Police barricaded the on the tractor rally route along the Ghazipur border that resulted in the clashed between police and the protestors. The senior Congress leader, who had once alleged that the Mumbai terror attack was a conspiracy by RSS, alleged that the police used tear gas to clear the protestors that led to the violence, culminating in Red Fort’s desecration and the unfurling of a Sikh flag at the Mughal monument.
#WATCH | …At the Ghazipur border, the police barricaded the route which was the planned route for the tractor rally. Then police used tear gas which precipitated the violence that ensued.” Congress leader Digvijaya Singh pic.twitter.com/j6e5ZtsRgZ
— ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2021
Essentially, the Congress leader is now indulging in petty politics even as the violent protests led an insurrection against the state and attacked the police personnel brutally injuring more than 300 police personnel. According to Digvijaya Singh, the blame for the entire riots fell upon the Delhi Police, who according to him provoked the protestors by putting up barricades and allegedly altering the rally routes.
However, it is not entirely true. The Delhi Police had blocked not just one, but all the four borders where the protestors had camped. Anticipating violence on the Republic Day and protestors mayhem at Central Delhi area, the Delhi police had blocked the four routes till the conclusion of the Republic parade. The Delhi Police had insisted and announced well in advance that the blockade would only be opened after Republic Day parade’s conclusion.
However, the so-called farmers rushed towards Delhi even before obtaining the necessary permission to start their rally. In doing so, just before the parade started at Rajpath, the farmers began to break down the barricades at Delhi borders and entered the national capital from the routes that were not permitted by the Delhi Police.
Several visuals of clashes between Delhi Police and protestors went viral on social media, showing how protestors had already reached ITO even as the Republic Day continued at Rajpath creating a security scare.
In some videos, protestors were seen trying to run over the police personnel with speeding tractors. When police tried to stop them, they attacked police personnel with swords and batons.
पुलिस की लाठी के बाद किसानों ने तलवार उठाई।#RepublicDay #TractorParadeOn26Jan pic.twitter.com/woGMsajrHg
— Utkarsh Singh (@UtkarshSingh_) January 26, 2021
In another video shared by Times Now, a ‘protestor’ was seen waving an automatic rifle as the police tried to control the mob. They did not stop at it as they continued to attack police personnel and reached Red Fort to unfurl the alleged Khalistani flag while disrespecting the national flag on Republic Day’s historic occasion.
#WATCH | Confrontation between farmers & Delhi Police reported in several points during the tractor rally.
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) January 26, 2021
Mohit Sharma, Waji, Parvina with ground details. pic.twitter.com/UaIRZllyi9
However, the Congress party, which is accused of inciting protestors from Day 1 of the ‘farmer’ protests has now gone to blame the Delhi police for provoking the rioters even though they have suffered massively at the hands of the alleged farmers.
Congress celebrates riots in the capital
As the rioters thronged the capital on the Republic Day, the Congress party celebrated the violence and praised the rioters for taking onto streets on the Republic Day. While protesting mobs were running riot in Delhi, the Congress party decided to celebrate the ‘power of the Republic’.
Politicising the riots, the Congress party’s official handle shared a photograph of the tractor parade on social media with a caption that said, “Never underestimate the power of a Republic”. It is pertinent to mention that the tweet was made at 1:45 pm, long after the violence had been unleashed in Delhi by the mob.
The protesting mob attacked the police with rods, swords and pelted stones at the police personnel. Some rioters also attempted to lynch police officers. The mob did not stop there and forced their way into the Red Fort where they unfurled the Sikh Flag.
However, Congress did not want to miss a chance to attack the Modi government at such a critical time. The Congress party set a perilous precedent by celebrating an insurrection against the country merely because it hopes to gain electorally from it. During the anti-CAA riots, Congress leaders had spread propaganda regarding the Citizenship Amendment Act and had fueled protests regarding the same.
Protesters resort to violence, vandalism and destruction amidst Tractor Rally
Thousands of farmers breached barricades and proceeded towards Delhi amid huge police presence as they kicked off their tractor rally on Republic Day. Chaos was unleashed on the streets leading to the national capital as farmers flouted the designated route and marched towards the Parliament and Red Fort.
The participants of the tractor rally also resorted to vandalism as they ran amok on the highways, attacking the trucks and breaking the barricades that were put up by the Delhi police to control their route. As disorder swept over the city’s borders, protesters were baton-charged and tear-gassed by the policemen on duty.
The upheaval was primarily caused after the protesters who were allowed to hold the “Kisaan Parade” between 12 to 5 PM, started the march much before the allotted time and veered away from the agreed-upon routes. The security personnel had tried in vain to convince the farmers to stick to the plan of holding the tractor parade after the conclusion of the Republic Day parade at Rajpath. But, their requests fell on deaf ears as the protesters ran riot, breaking barricades and vandalising vehicles on their way.
The rampant violence was the leitmotif of the Kisaan Parade carried out on Republic Day by the protesters opposing the newly introduced Farm Laws. But the tweet posted by NDTV, in essence, was a shoddy attempt by the media organization to discredit the reports of violence, vandalism, and stone-pelting that were witnessed in the wake of the tractor rally.
