Farmer body Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan today has withdrawn its support to the ‘farmers’ agitation.
I have nothing to do with the protest which is being led by them and over here being represented by Rakesh Tikait on their behalf: Sardar VM Singh, Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan https://t.co/CYKZoH9y4y
Speaking to media, farmer leader VM Singh said that they could not carry forward protest with someone whose direction is something else. “So, I wish them the best but VM Singh and Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan are withdrawing from this protest right away,” he said.
He further said that he does not want to participate in a protest which is led by Tikait.
His statement came soon after various farmer leaders including Rakesh Tikait were booked for the riots on Republic Day. All-weather protestor Yogendra Yadav, who had been identifying himself as ‘farmer leader’ these days was also named in one of the FIRs.
Along with Singh, Thakur Bhanu Pratap Singh, president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Bhanu) also said condemned the violence in Delhi yesterday and withdraw from the protests.
I am deeply pained by whatever happened in Delhi yesterday and ending our 58-day protest: Thakur Bhanu Pratap Singh, president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Bhanu) at Chilla border pic.twitter.com/5WNdxM9Iqo
The tractor rally held by ‘farmers’ on Republic Day turned violent where they tried to run over the police and sieged the Red Fort and unfurled the Nishan Sahib flag.
I struggled with this article, wondering if there is something I could add to the commentary on the events from yesterday. I suppose most good people are still numb with shock. If you ask me, this was an attempted coup. The underlying message of holding a parallel parade on Republic Day was always clear. They wanted to showcase a parallel power center on the streets, a republic of mob rule. Storming the Red Fort and planting another flag was just a natural next step, likely carefully planned and executed.
That is literally the metaphor used by all those who want to overthrow the Indian state. They speak of flying their own flag on the Red Fort.
After the failed coup attempt, their supporters have had to go into damage control mode. The so-called “fact-checkers” were unleashed as the first line of defense. They wanted us to debate whether the flag they planted was a “good flag” or a “bad flag.” Classic diversion tactic. The fact is that it doesn’t matter. The Red Fort is the place where the Prime Minister of India raises the national flag on Independence Day. No flag, whether “good” or “bad” can take its place.
After the fact-checkers had done their bit, the rumor mongers were pressed into service. Now they are finding “BJP agents” all over the place and blaming them. See this photo, see that tweet. Ha! Till yesterday, they were all “annadaatas” with hearts of gold. Today you realize that the place was crawling with well-known BJP agents. What about the farm union leaders themselves who welcomed these laws barely six months ago? What about the farm unions who made these same exact demands in writing as part of their “Kisan manifesto” for the 2019 elections? All BJP agents?
Again, that does not matter. They now realize that yesterday’s coup attempt was a step too far. They now want to drown everything out in a cloud of rumor, confusion and conspiracy theories.
For those of my generation, this is distressingly familiar. A horrible thing happened in Godhra on Feb 27, 2002. The next day, the lies began. Someone did not pay for tea, someone tried to sexually assault a woman, the fire was an accident and so on. Result: till date, a number of people, including outlets like BBC, think that nobody really knows who was to blame in Godhra. Never mind the fact that the Gujarat High Court convicted the culprits years ago and gave them life sentences.
I know I have digressed from the aim of this article, apparent from its heading. My aim was to add something new to all the things being said.
So, dear liberal annadatas, let me just point out that a tractor has a rather high center of gravity. Here is a diagram that may help understand the concept. An object will fall when the vertical line from its center of gravity no longer passes through its base.
Forget the technical jargon; what does that mean for you? It means that a tractor will overturn easily. In other words, it is incredibly dangerous to drive a tractor around in crazy stunts at high speeds, like I observed some “liberals” doing yesterday on the streets of Delhi.
Dangerous for who? Well, it is dangerous both for the person driving the tractor and the people on the street. From what I saw yesterday, I suppose you don’t care very much about the latter. You already used tractors to chase innocent policemen over the walls of the fort, forcing them to jump into a ditch. Over 80 of them are in hospital. I know you couldn’t care less about that.
But it is dangerous for you too. If you try to turn tricks with a tractor, it will likely overturn and cause serious injuries to you. A tractor is supposed to be used for hauling heavy things, usually at slow speeds. No matter how loud its engine, a tractor is not a tank and cannot be used as such. Considering that most of the “liberal” rioters yesterday appeared to identify as male, I apologize if this revelation hurts your male ego.
And before you ask, these are laws of physics. They were not made by any Parliament. There was no debate and no discussion before these laws came into force. If that means these laws are serving the interests of A**ani or A*ani or any other businessman whose name rhymes with that, please do not blame Modi, Shah, RSS, Bhakts, Godi media, etc for it. Unfortunately, the laws of physics cannot be repealed. They cannot even be suspended.
So while we are in this physical universe, I suggest you simply follow the law. Be careful when you are driving a tractor. Take care of your own safety as well as the safety of others around you.
As ‘protesting farmers’ turned to rioting mob to unleash violence on Republic Day, the farmer bodies have come out to defend them and ‘distanced’ themselves from the rioting mob. From blaming the violence on ‘unruly mob’ to ‘uneducated people’, ‘farmer leaders’ have been washing their hands off the terror unleashed on the national capital on a day India celebrated the Republic.
However, ahead of the Republic Day violence, these very farmer leaders who are pinning blame on others and claiming they had nothing to do with violence during the ‘peaceful protest’, were seen implicitly instigating the ‘protestors’ to be prepared for violence.
Bharatiya Kisan Union’s Rakesh Tiktait
Rakesh Tikait, Bharatiya Kisan Union’s National Spokesperson claimed that the rally was peaceful, and some uneducated farmers ‘accidentally’ went on the wrong route and reached Red Fort. Tikait completely denied any violence during Tractor Rally and claimed he has nothing to do with it. According to him, it was the central government and Delhi Police that planned and executed the violence.
However, some videos tell a different tale. In an undated video, Tikait provoked the farmers to bring their own flags with sticks, which they will hoist on the Republic Day. Towards the end, he again made a provocative claim that the Agriculture laws will take away farmers’ land, which is nothing but falsehood.
In another video, Tikait said that the Republic Day Parade would move from Rashtrapati Bhawan to India Gate, and Tractor Rally will move from Red Fort to India Gate. He further added that both parades would meet at India Gate.
Though they did not get permission to start the Tractor Rally before the Republic Day Parade ended, the Tractor Rally was forcefully begun almost at the same time when the Republic Day Parade was about to start. The claims Tikait made in the video have a striking resemblance to what had happened yesterday as protestors forcefully changed the route and barged into Red Fort to hoist the Nishan Sahib flag.
In another video, Tikait was heard threatening Delhi Police that if they try to stop tractors from entering Delhi, they will attack. He claimed that no one could stop tractors, and if anyone tries to do so, the person(s) will be dealt with violence.
Gurnam Singh Charuni
Bharatiya Kisan Union Chief Gurnam Singh Charuni, in a video byte before January 26, urged farmers to go on Republic Day with their tractors. He and other farmer leaders had just come out after meeting with Union Ministers.
He further added that their Tractor Rally would break down the barricades and enter the national capital. He said he does not care if the government use force and fire bullets on them but Republic Day will be the “final match” between government and protestors.
Yudhvir Singh
Yudhvir Singh, General Secretary Bharatiya Kisan Union, in a video byte from January 1, 2021, said that the youth farmers are ready for action, and if the government does not fulfil their demands, they will take the matter into their own hands.
In another video from January 8, while talking to CNBC, Singh said that they are preparing for January 26.
He further added that they were starting a campaign to call at least one person from every home from every village with a tractor to participate in the tractor rally.
Yogendra Yadav
In a video from January 3, Yogendra Yadav, addressed a group of farmers and said that the tractors would enter Delhi on January 26 from six entry points.
Krantikari Kisan Union’s Darshan Pal has also claimed earlier that tractors will enter Delhi on January 26. Interestingly he stated that Delhi Police have agreed to the routes they asked permission for, but Delhi Police denied giving any such consent.
In a video from January 23, he was heard saying they will hold a tractor march on January 26, and 80% of the parade will be inside Delhi.
In another statement, he had already claimed that they would march on foot towards Parliament on February 1, the day on which the Budget session would be taking place.
Delhi Police has till now filed FIRs against ‘farmer leaders’ including Yogendra Yadav. Rakesh Tikait has also been booked by Delhi Police. As many as 22 FIRs have been registered by now. Over 200 rioters are detained under charges of rioting, damaging public property and attacking police personnel. The police stated that they are making arrests after due verifications.
On Tuesday, even as the country celebrated the 72nd Republic Day, rioters disguised as farmers stormed the capital and unleashed massive violence and on the streets of Delhi.
The rioters started an insurrection against the government by occupying the national monument Red Fort on a historic day and unfurled a Sikh religious flag after disrespecting the Indian tricolour at the ramparts of the Red Fort. The shocking scenes of rioters storming the Red Fort to throw away the tricolour and hoist the Sikh flag at the premises created a shock wave across the country.
In the planned insurrection by so-called farmers, instigated by politicians from the Congress, “farmer” leaders like Tikait Singh, career-protestors-and-shape-shifters like Yogendra Yadav, etc, almost 300 policemen were injured with 2 admitted to the ICU. The nation saw horrifying images of mobs running amok with swords, stones, sticks and even guns. Now, FIRs have been filed against the “farmer” leaders who instigated violence and shape-shifter Yogendra Yadav, whose tentacles were found not only in the current spate of violence but also the anti-Hindu riots of 2020.
Amidst the rampant violence, the simmering anger of the nation and the ‘liberal’ ecosystem trying to whitewash the treason, a video of the controversial actor and Khalistani sympathiser Deep Sidhu also surfaced where he was also seen inside the Red Fort as rioters charged towards the flag post to hoist the Sikh flag. It is now being alleged that Deep Sidhu was one of the people who plotted to hoist the Sikh flag at Red Fort. While Deep Sidhu is a Khalistani and it was OpIndia that reported on him weeks ago, the instigation by farmer leaders, politicians and several others, including the proscribed Khalistani terror outfit SFJ (Sikhs for Justice) must not be forgotten.
However, with Deep Sidhu, the liberal-hero-turned-scapegoat being seen inside the Red Fort, it becomes imperative to lay down threadbare who he is, what he did, and how the ecosystem, that is now trying to distance itself from him, were hailing him just a few weeks ago.
Who is Deep Sidhu?
It is important to note that Deep Sidhu came into the limelight during the first few days of the farmer protests in Punjab. A video had gone viral on social media platforms in which Deep Sidhu was seen claiming to be a farmer and saying that the farmers protests will be the defining moment of the geopolitics of not just India but also entire South Asia.
In the video that had gone viral, Sidhu, who was seen wearing black attire and a white turban argued with the police officers demanding the opening of roads blockades along the Punjab-Haryana border that had been closed pre-empting the violent protests.
The protesting ‘farmer’ was heard saying that these farmer protests were nothing but an “Inquilab” (revolution). Sidhu had also threatened the authorities saying that they were failing to understand the seriousness of the matter as this ‘revolution’ (protests) will define the next geopolitics of the entire country and South Asia.
As Deep Sidhu and his fellow protestors had uttered the magical words of ‘revolution’, the left-liberals and the opposition ecosystem had fallen in love with the Punjab actor, who descended on social media platforms for having a ‘spine’ to stand up to the ‘fascist’ Modi government. However, within a few hours, the real identity of Deep Sidhu was exposed.
We at OpIndia had reported in detail about the close links between Khalistani establishment and the Punjabi actor, who was now being hailed as a ‘revolutionary’. Shockingly, Deep Sidhu, who was portraying himself as an aggrieved farmer in the video, is nothing but a known Khalistan sympathiser. Sidhu has time-and-again defended the terrorist activities of pro-Khalistan groups.
Just a few weeks back, Deep Sidhu had expelled a lawyer known as Hakam Singh for ruthlessly objecting to the raising of the pro-Khalistan slogan by another pro-Khalistani sympathiser and for handing him over to the police.
The lawyer had reacted to the slogan in a harsh manner after a Punjabi youth had raised pro-Khalistani slogans at a morcha. The lawyer had immediately taken him to the police personnel deployed nearby and asked them to arrest him by registering FIR against him. Losing temper over it, he offered to become a complainant against him.
Reacting to the incident, Sidhu had released a video defending the sacking of lawyer from his morcha for acting against pro-Khalistan sympathisers. In the video, Sidhu had openly opposed the action of Hakam Singh while announcing his expulsion.
“Taking such a decision was very necessary because our quam has made scores of sacrifices for the cause of Khalistan. If anyone raises a slogan in its favour, our reaction to it cannot be so ruthless,” the actor had said defending the Khalistani movement.
Hailing the Khalistani terror movements, Deep Sidhu had said that the armed Sikh struggle fought during the 90s was an important phase of their overall present struggle for their basic rights. He added, “I would like to say again that neither armed Sikh struggle was wrong, nor a declaration of Khalistan. Raising pro-Khalistan slogans was also not wrong”.
Ironically, netizens mocked Deep Sidhu when he said this protests or ‘revolution’ would define the geopolitics of South Asia. However, if one looks at the pro-Khalistan affiliations of Deep Sidhu, his statements cannot be taken in a light-hearted manner as it may have been the real motive after all and these farmer protests are just facade to create unrest in the country.
In fact, in a Freudian slip, Deep Sidhu had accidentally revealed the sinister plan of the Khalistani movement to use the opportunity of farmers protests to create instability in the region and incite Punjabi farmers against the Modi government in the name of protesting against the farm bills.
After OpIndia had exposed Deep Sidhu’s Khalistani links, veteran journalist-turned-YouTuber Barkha Dutt had tried to give him a platform to ‘clear his name’. However, he disappointed her deeply when he kept reiterating that Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was actually a hero for Sikhs.
Left-liberals make Deep Sidhu a scapegoat for his alleged past links with the BJP
As the entire conspiracy of the so-called farmer protests and the subsequent riots that took place in Delhi culminating in the desecration of Red Fort and hoisting of the Sikh flag, the left-liberals have now squarely thrown Deep Sidhu under the bus to not just save others like Rakesh Tikait and Yogendra Yadav, but also in an attempt to spin yarns to blame the BJP government.
The left-liberal intelligentsia, the Congress party and its troll, are now spinning yarns to allege that the Punjabi Khalistani actor is actually close to the ruling BJP. According to them, Deep Sidhu has close links with BJP MP from Gurdaspur – Sunny Deol and BJP had infiltrated into the farmer protests with Deep Sidhu as their ‘mole’ to create unrest during the ‘farmer’ protests.
It is important to note that Deep Sidhu had ties with actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol and had even campaigned for him in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. However, the relationship between the two soured following the elections. Speaking to Barkha Dutt, Deep Sidhu had boasted about his love for Khalistani movement and its leadership and had categorically stated that he did not belong to any political party and had campaigned for Sunny Deol due to their friendship, which he came to deeply regret later.
Barkha Dutt, who had given a platform to Deep Sidhu in an attempt to prove him innocent and the OpIndia reportage incorrect, had asked him about him being close to the BJP. This question had come only after he had hailed Khalistani and refused to budge despite several pleas by Barkha. When exonerating his Khalistani ties did not work, the propaganda had shifted towards an attempt to paint him as a BJP supporter.
On being asked if he was affiliated with any political party, Sidhu said, “I am not at all affiliated with any political party. The only thing I was involved in was the political campaigning of BJP’s Mr Deol (Sunny Deol) from Gurdaspur constituency because I share a very close relationship with him and I was a part of the BJP campaign,” Sidhu said.
Left-Liberals, opposition parties do flip-flops on Deep Sidhu, exposes their hypocrisy
Interestingly, the left-liberals, who had once hailed Deep Sidhu for taking on the BJP-led centre to pass the three farm laws, are now blaming him for the riots and linked him with the ruling BJP-led government, against which he had protested just a few weeks back.
Most importantly, the Congress party has been forefront at opposing the farm laws and alleged to have been sponsoring the ‘farmers’ protests despite its own government in Punjab notifying the farm laws.
In November, as Deep Sidhu became the face of the resistance against the Modi government, the Congress party had openly claimed the turban-clad actor as a ‘farmer’ and had endorsed his protests against the farm laws.
Congress party hailed Deep Sidhu earlier
Several Congress party workers and its media ecosystem had hailed Deep Sidhu for his courage and actively promoted him as an ‘aggrieved farmer’. However, with the real intention of the so-called farmer protests have now been exposed, they are now making the Punjab actor a scapegoat to sustain their political narrative.
Gaurav Pandhi, the Congress IT Cell member, who had once defended Deep Sidhu’s actions, linked him to the BJP over an unrelated image of the actor captured alongside PM Modi.
Congress IT cell member goes from hailing ‘farmer’ Deep Sidhu to allege he is linked with BJP
Dushyant, another Congress sympathiser who claims to be a ‘journalist, too resorted to the same strategy of accusing him of having BJP links and being a mole in the entire ‘farmer protests.
Here are the two tweets put out by Dushyant, first one endorsing Deep Sidhu during the November protests and the second tweet is about Dushyant blaming Deep Sidhu for resorting to unfurling the flag at Red Fort.
Comments of Congress sympathiser on Deep Sidhu
Ravish Kumar, the epitome of ‘neutral’ journalism was not far behind. After Deep Sidhu had received notice from NIA in the SFJ case, Ravish Kumar had defended him by calling him an actor.
As Deep Sidhu is now accused of protesting at the Red Fort, Ravish Kumar cunningly refers to his alleged links with the BJP to claim that his political links had helped him to lead the protests.
Check how shamelessly Ravish is saying that Deep Sidhu reaching Red Fort can be a conspiracy by BJP.
Last week when NIA sent notice to Deep Sidhu, Ravish introduced him by calling him “Film Kalakar”
The propagandists at the Islamist propaganda site – Alt News that claims to be a fact-checking site, also faced embarrassment after endorsing the Punjabi actor initially only to blame him later after he was caught exposed.
Here are the two tweets put out by employees of fake news website Alt News trying to spin the narrative on both the occasions.
Tweets of Alt News employees on Deep Sidhu
Not just Congress party, AAP too played a similar dirty game. In November, AAP leaders had praised Deep Sidhu for joining with the farmers’ to protest against the Modi government over the passing of the three farm laws.
However, as farmer leaders have now caught instigating riots in the national capital, they are now putting out unrelated images of Deep Sidhu with PM Modi and his past connections with Sunny Deol to accuse BJP of organising the violent farmer protests.
Here are the two tweets put out by AAP MLA Naresh Balyan, the first endorsing Deep Sidhu and second one accusing him of being a BJP mole as rioters, instigated by radical-left activists and opposition leaders, caused havoc in the national capital.
AAP leader changes stand on Deep Sidhu
AAP social media cell too furthered the same false propaganda just months after coming to the rescue of Deep Sidhu, who was criticised by the Right-wing and the nationalists for his alleged links with the Khalistanis.
AAP leader changes stand on Deep Sidhu
Here are other Islamists and radical-left sympathisers exposing themselves by first endorsing Deep Sidhu only to throw him under the bus after the whole conspiracy behind the ‘farmer protests’ got exposed.
Another important fact is it is not just Deep Sidhu, who was part of the Tuesday violence and the subsequent desecration of the Mughul monument and the unfurling of a Sikh flag from the ramparts of the Red Fort. There were several thousand people who had reached the Red Fort on the instructions of 32 farm union leaders, who were the ones to organise the tractor rally on the Republic day in the first place.
While Deep Sidhu is a Khalistani and clearly had an active role in the insurrection and must be brought to book, the Left saying that only one man is responsible for the violence is a classic tactic to save others like Yogendra Yadav and Rakesh Tikait. The fact remains that this insurrection was a planned coup against the democratically elected government of India and every element involved, including Sidhu, Yogendra Yadav and Tikait must be dealt with in accordance with the law and brought to justice for burning the country.
A day after rampaging violence, assault on hundreds of police personnel and storming into the Red Fort to unfurl an alien flag on Republic Day, the so-called farmer leaders have now started to either wash their hands off, or blame each other for the violence.
As per reports, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha has stated that most of the protesting farmers have held a meeting today under Balbir Singh Rajewal and sincere appreciation was conveyed to the protesting farmers for providing support and participating in the tractor rally on R-Day.
The SKU further stated that the central government was severely shaken by their protests, hence it conspired with some other farmer unions, like Kisan Majdoor Sangharsh Committee and others to defame the ‘peaceful’ protests by farmers. SKU further stated that the conspiring farmer groups had set up their own protest site 15 days after the original protests started and were not a part of the larger farmer agitation which is represented by many farmer organizations.
The concerned organisations discussed the violent incidents in New Delhi & concluded that Union Govt. has been severely shaken by this peasant agitation. Therefore, a dirty conspiracy was hatched with Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee & others…: Samyukt Kisan Morcha
After running riots in the national capital on Republic Day, the so-called farmers and their tractors have now again gone back to the borders of Delhi, blocking the highways and continuing their ‘protests’ against the farm laws.
As reported by NDTV, the SKU has stated that they have no association with the violent protestors and most of the farmers had a peaceful march. SKU has further stated that some elements associated with Satnam Pannu and they had broken barricades and stormed into Delhi. SKU also claimed that the police should have stopped the members of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee. They also said that Deep Sidhu and Lakkha Sidhana have been instigating some elements for violence.
The Delhi Police have so far registered 22 FIRs in the Republic Day rioting cases. Over 200 rioters have been detained under charges of rioting, damaging public property and attacking police personnel. The police stated that they are making arrests after due verifications.
As reported by the Indian Express, 9 ‘farmer leaders’ have been named so far in the FIRs for the Republic Day violence, including Yogendra Yadav. The police have stated that they are verifying phone cameras, CCTV, and drone footage to identify rioters.
As per the latest reports, farmer leaders Darshan Pal, Rajinder Singh, Balbir Singh Rajewal, Buta Singh Burjgil & Joginder Singh Ugraha have been named in FIRs. FIR also mentions the name of BKU spokesperson Rakesh Tikait. Charges under several sections of IPC have been filed against Tikait, including section 307 (attempt to murder), section 147 (punishment for rioting) & 353 (assault/criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty).
As per reports, one of the FIRs, registered in Nangloi station, names at least 40 so-called ‘farmer leaders’ who were a part of the negotiations with the government. Yogendra Yadav’s name features in that FIR too. The report by Amar Ujala states that the FIR also includes charges under vandalism and robbery. The charges of robbery have been included because some of the rioters had snatched away tear gas shells from the police.
The Delhi Police have stated that the case of the violence at Red Fort will be investigated by the Crime Branch. Cases have been filed under dacoity (section 395), 397 (robbery, or dacoity, with an attempt to cause death or grievous hurt), 120 b (punishment of criminal conspiracy), and other sections.
Delhi Police sources have stated that the farmer leaders who had attended the meeting with Delhi Police and had signed an undertaking declaring that no untoward incident will happen during their tractor rally, will be held accountable and FIRs will be lodged in their names. The Delhi Police is to hold a press conference shortly to provide further details.
As chaos and disorder swept across the national capital, particularly at the Red Fort, several wild conspiracy theories came up in its wake, ascribing the upheaval to the Prime Minister’s Office. One such conspiracy theory was peddled by none other than BJP MP Subramanian Swamy.
This morning Subramanian Swamy took to Twitter to allege that there are rumours that Prime Minister Office orchestrated the Red Fort siege.
There is a buzz, could be fake, or fake IDs of enemies that a BJP member close to high places in PMO acted as a agent provocateur in the Red Fort drama. Please check out and inform
According to Swamy’s tweet, the speculations stated that PMO acted as an agent provocateur in the Red Fort drama. However, Swamy acknowledged that the rumours could be fake.
“There is a buzz, could be fake, or fake IDs of enemies that a BJP member close to high places in PMO acted as an agent provocateur in the Red Fort drama. Please check out and inform,” Swamy tweeted.
Liberals try to paint a pro-Khalistan actor accused of spearheading the Red Fort siege as a ‘Sanghi’
Similar conspiracy theories that the Prime Minister of the country might be involved in the Red Fort siege on the 71st Republic Day was peddled by a host of left-leaning liberals, perhaps, in a bid to absolve the protesters from any wrongdoing.
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan shared an alleged picture of PM Modi with Deep Sidhu, the person who led the mob at Red Fort, where Sikh religious flags were unfurled. Bhushan, through his tweet, tried to dissociate the storming of the Red Fort with the ongoing ‘farmers’ agitation by insinuating that the Red Fort siege was a handiwork of the central government as PM Modi had once met Deep Sidhu.
This is Deep Sidhu with Modi & Shah. He led the mob at Red Fort today & unfurled the Sikh religious flag there pic.twitter.com/dX9bQjAIim
Others too, tried to insinuate that the Red Fort siege was designed by the BJP since Deep Sidhu, who unfurled the flag at the Red Fort, had close ties with the BJP leader Sunny Deol.
Gokhale, with this attempt, is trying to further the liberal narrative that BJP was in cahoots with Sidhu to carry out the Red Fort siege and discredit the ‘farmers’ agitation. Gokhale also shared an undated picture of Amit Shah’s alleged meet with Deep Sidhu to claim that BJP was behind the storming of the Red Fort.
The storming of Red Fort by the tractor rally protesters
The conspiracy theory floated by Subramanian Swamy comes a day after Delhi was roiled with violence and vandalism as tractor rally protesters went on a rampage across the streets of the national capital. A bevy of riotous protesters breached the barricades along the city borders and unleashed chaos in the national capital.
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. A large number of protesters stormed the grounds of the Red Fort and unfurled religious flags on its ramparts.
One of the most disturbing images that came out of the Republic Day insurrection was the hoisting of the flag at Red Fort. While there appears to be consensus that it was the Sikh Flag that was raised, it was interpreted by many to be the flag of Khalistan.
According to some of the farmer leaders, the ones responsible for the hoisting of the flag at Red Fort were Deep Sidhu and his gang of supporters. Boota Singh Burjgill, President BKU (Dakaunda), told The Print, “Deep Sidhu and his group hoisted the flags at the Red Fort. They have been trying to create trouble in the movement from day one. We are following the parade route we had announced.”
Deep Sidhu is a Khalistani supporters who has been involved in the current protests against the newly passed farm laws from the very beginning. For a time, he even became popular with the media but ruined his chances after he gave an interview to Barkha Dutt, where he refused to condemn Khalistani terrorist Bhindranwale.
New Delhi was yesterday convulsed with a horrifying spate of violence and vandalism when the protesters participating in the farmers’ tractor rally ran riot on the streets of the national capital. Scores of demonstrators veered away from the agreed-upon route and created mayhem across the city. A large section of the unruly mob broke barricades and stormed the grounds of the venerable Red Fort, casting a shadow on the country’s 71st Republic Day celebrations. The protesters also scaled the Fort and hoisted a religious flag alongside the Indian flag at the historic monument.
While the lumpen demonstrators went about rampaging the streets of Delhi and the iconic monuments, their abettors in form of the left-liberal ‘intellectuals’ and journalists appeared to make light of the unprecedented pandemonium that gripped the national capital. One such was NDTV journalist Sreenivasan Jain.
Jain, a quintessential NDTV journalist, seemed to give a pass to the protesters for the violence and incidents of vandalism that were witnessed yesterday. In fact, NDTV had yesterday ran a news piece in which it attempted to paint the riotous mob as ‘humanitarian‘ by claiming that they had made way for an ambulance which had stuck in traffic caused by their tractor rally.
In his report, Jain continued to harp upon the peaceful nature of the protests up until then while defending the protesters by citing that there were conflicting accounts of the events that transpired on the Republic Day in the national capital.
In a report broadcasted from the Red Fort, Jain said that some security forces were attacked by the protesters but he also added that other groups of protesters had protected the security forces, and escorted them to a safe place.
Jain also provided his platform to the vandals at the Red Fort, allowing them to defend their act of vandalism and desecration of the hallowed Red Fort. The report mentioned that the protesters did not mean disrespect to the tricolour even as some of them scaled up the ramparts of the Fort and hoisted religious flags beside the Indian flag.
.@OnReality_Check | Isn’t it wrong to hoist a religious flag from the ramparts of the Red Fort?
When Jain asked one of the protesters why did he come to Red Fort since it was not on the route decided by the farmers’ union and the Delhi Police, the person responded that they had decided to unfurl the ‘Kisan’ flag at the Red Fort and which is why they stormed into Delhi.
Sreenivasan Jain downplayed terror attack against Guj CM Narendra Modi as “chhota mota blast”
Though Jain allowed protesters to use his platform to rationalise their anarchic behaviour, this is not the first time that Sreenivasan has downplayed a serious issue. In fact, it is par for the course for the NDTV journalists to take contentious stands if it’s against the current dispensation.
Earlier too, Jain trivialised a terror attack planned against then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi as “chhota mota blast”. During one of his shows on NDTV, Sreenivasan Jain tried to played down a terrorist attack to peddle his anti-Modi narrative. He had claimed that terrorists such as Ishrat Jahan, gunned down by the Gujarat Police during an encounter, did not come to kill the then Gujarat Chief Minister but to do a ‘chota-mota‘ (small-time) bomb blast.
Under the garb of informing the viewers about the CBI investigation into the encounter, the NDTV journalist had insinuated that since Ishrat Jahan had come to only execute a small-time terror attack, therefore, she ought to have been treated well by the Gujarat police. Conveying that the terrorist deserved a ‘fair trial’, he tried to paint terrorism as a ‘no-big-deal’ issue. It is, therefore, surprising that a journalist who was once at the forefront of providing intellectual cover fire to a slain terrorist is today incensed about the government’s alleged defence of a news channel, with views and opinions contrary to his.
Violent protests carried out by the so-called protesting farmers yesterday that brought global shame to the country on the holy occasion of Republic Day have caused severe damage to public property. The protestors who seized the Red Fort in the national capital caused havoc inside it completely destroying its interior.
After the unsettling visuals from yesterday showing cops running for their lives after being attacked by armed protestors, some disturbing images of the violence unleashed by protestors inside the Red Fort have emerged. Protestors who barged inside the Red Fort yesterday ravaged the ticket counter and other property inside the Red Fort.
#WATCH: Broken shards of glass, scattered pieces of paper and vandalised ticket counter seen at the Red Fort in Delhi.
A group of protestors climbed to the ramparts of the fort and unfurled flags on January 26. pic.twitter.com/myCOU9QrJK
As can be seen in the visuals, the ticket counter has been destroyed and not a single thing inside the ticket counter appears intact. Pieces of smashed glass can be seen scattered on the ground.
All the movable or immovable properties placed inside the ticket counter have been broken and damaged by the protestors.
Delhi: Visuals of vandalised ticket counter, metal detector gate, broken shards of glass and Police caps seen at the premises of Red Fort. pic.twitter.com/4kcR9p1omB
The metal detectors placed inside the ticket counter have been dislodged and vandalised. Caps of some police personnel can also be seen lying on the ground testifying the audacity and lack of respect for law and order in the protestors.
Yesterday’s violent protests left over 150 police personnel injured in Delhi. A large group of protestors entered the national capital through unauthorised routes and played havoc. According to reports, two cops who received serious injuries during the violence are currently fighting for their lives in the ICU at Lok Nayak Sushruta Trauma Centre.
A video of Rakesh Tikait, one of the Republic Day riots’ key figures in Delhi, has gone viral on the internet where he can be seen asking the protestors to carry Lathis and sticks to the protests.
Rakesh Tikait is one of the masterminds of the tractor rally, who fomented trouble in the national capital by instigating the so-called protestors to unleash violence on Delhi’s streets, which unfortunately ended with the shocking act of desecration of tricolour at the Red Fort.
In the video that has gone viral now BKU leader Rakesh Tikait can be seen asking his supporters and other protestors to be armed with Lathis ahead of the Republic Day tractor rally in Delhi.
Asking the alleged farmers to carry Lathis and ‘Danda’, Rakesh Tikait can also be seen misleading the alleged farmers by saying that their lands would be snatched. “The government is not agreeing to our terms, and they will come to take your lands,” says Rakesh Tikait as he asks the farmers to carry tricolour along with the flag of their choice.
Farmer leaders instigate riots, claims tractor rally is ‘peaceful’
After pushing Delhi into violence, chaos, and disorder during the tractor rally, self-proclaimed farmer leaders Rakesh Tikait and Yogendra Yadav had earlier distanced themselves from the mayhem.
As the violent mob unleashed terror on the streets of Delhi and attempted an insurrection against the state by unfurling a flag at Red Fort by disrespecting the tricolour, the ‘farmer leaders’ had gone hiding. Later, one of the ‘farmers leaders’, Rakesh Tikait came out to dismiss the violence and claimed that his faction has been peaceful.
Even as cases of vandalism and violence were being reported from different parts of the national capital, BKU leader Rakesh Tikait said that the tractor march is ‘peaceful’ and that he had no knowledge of whether the protest had turned violent. Tikait’s remarks came as the protesters vandalized several vehicles, including DTC buses at the ITO area, videos of which have gone viral on the internet.
“Rally is going on peacefully. I don’t have any knowledge of it. We are at Ghazipur and are releasing the traffic here,” Rakesh Tikait had said while dismissing the violent riots.
‘Farmer leader’ Rakesh Tikait washes hands off the violence, blames Red Fort siege on ‘uneducated people’
A day after burning Delhi once again during the protest tractor rally, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait has now washed his hands off the violence and blamed ‘uneducated people’ for the Red Fort siege.
Tikait, who has now been caught instigating the crowd by asking them to be armed, on Wednesday attempted to blame Delhi Police for the whole incident.
Speaking to the media, Tikait said, “Uneducated people were driving tractors, they didn’t know the paths of Delhi. Administration told them the way towards Delhi. They went to Delhi & returned home. Some of them unknowingly deflected towards Red Fort. Police guided them to return.” He further said that anti-social elements were behind the violence.
