Ever since the three farm bills were passed in both the houses of the Parliament, farmers have been holding several protests around the Delhi borders. Protest doesn’t seem to be getting over in the national capital.
So far, many videos have gone viral during the farmers’ protests over the past two months, here’s a video of farmers’ protest on Republic Day where farmers were seen disrespecting the National Flag. The video, which is doing the rounds on social video, shows protesters dishonouring the National Flag.
The farmers organized a massive tractor rally on Republic Day. Breaking police barricades, they barged into Red Fort and hoisted the Nishan Sahib, which is a symbol of the Sikh religion.
Chaotic scenes were witnessed at ITO, where hundreds of protesters were seen pelting stones at police personnel and ramming their tractors into the buses parked by the cops. A DTC bus was also vandalised by angry farmers, prompting the cops to use tear gas and lathicharge to disperse them and thwart their attempt to move towards Lutyens’ Delhi and Rajpath, the heart of the national capital. According to reports, more than 80 police officers were injured.
Traffic was affected in several parts of the national capital, with Delhi Police blocking all roads leading to central Delhi from east and and north-east Delhi and gates of more than 10 metro stations were closed.
The situation was tense at Delhi’s Akshardham after some farmers brandished swords and clashed with police personnel. A video of the incident shows police using tear gas shells to push back the farmers who had taken out their swords.
How did the protests turn violent?
Police allowed Tuesday’s rally on the condition that it would not interrupt the annual Republic Day parade in central Delhi.
Farmers were given specific routes for the rally, which would largely be confined to the outskirts. But a group of them converged on the historic Red Fort. They breached security and clambered onto the walls and domes of the fortress, even hoisting flags alongside the national flag.
At Delhi’s Mukarba Chowk, security personnel used tear gas on groups of farmers as they tried to break barricades and cemented barriers with tractors.
The police asked the farmers to head back to their pre-decided routes for the tractor parade. “We request to the protesting farmers to not take law in their hands and maintain peace,” Additional PRO Anil Mittal said.
