Gangster-turned-pro-Khalistan activist Lakha Sidhana has been seen at farmer protest sites encouraging the farmer groups to break the barricades. On 14th February, he released a video claiming the ongoing protests are not just about farmer protests. His presence has put the security agencies on high alert.
Notably, Sidhana is out of bail in the matter linked to a riot-like situation in Delhi on 26th February 2021 when protesting “farmers” forcefully entered Delhi and hoisted alien flags on the Red Fort. Several police personnel were injured in violent attacks, and properties were damaged on that day. Last week, he was booked for attacking police personnel and damaging police vehicles in separate cases.
In a video of over 5 minutes, Lakha Sidhana claimed that the fight is not limited to the farmers’ demands. He said, “The way new laws are being implemented, they [the government] will snatch away your land, water and everything. Your history will be destroyed. It is now a question of our existence.”
Calling it a “new world order,” he claimed that people around the world, including Western countries, are fighting against it. Sidhana made a shocking demand in the video. He asked his supporters to provide JCB and other heavy-duty machines for the protests. Understandably, they want to use heavy machinery to remove the barricades that the police have placed to stop them from entering Delhi. Notably, they have already procured one JCB, visible in the video.
“We have to break the barricades and enter Delhi. Now, it is the question of our dignity and existence. It is the question of our future generations,” he added.
Speaking to PRO Punjab TV, Sidhana openly called for regime change and said PM Modi should not return to power. Speaking about the protests, he claimed there are amendments in the laws that ensure NSA and UAPA on protesters. He said, “Their men are posing as protesters and damaging properties. We have caught a man yesterday and one today.”
He also spoke against digitisation and claimed with digital currency, the government wants to control where you spend your money, and if you protest against it, they will come after you. Speaking on private players entering the agriculture sector, he said large machines and robots will take away the jobs of labourers. In essence, Sidhana has a problem with everything linked to modernisation.
Who is Lakha Sidhana?
Lakha Sidhana is a gangster-turned-radical who poses as a political leader. He is one of the accused in the 26th January violence in Delhi and is currently out on bail. He contested the Punjab Assembly Elections 2022 as an independent, where he secured 28,091 votes but lost the election of Aam Aadmi Party’s candidate Sukhveer Singh Maiserkhana, who secured 63,099 votes. As per an affidavit filed by Sidhana during the Assembly Elections, there were 14 pending cases against him, and in two cases, he was convicted. Sidhana also tried his hands in politics in the 2012 elections but failed.
