Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait, who is among the 37 farmer leaders named by the police in the January 26 Delhi violence case FIR, has said that the violence which took place on Republic Day in the national capital was a “conspiracy to malign the farmer unions and distance Punjab from the rest of the country”.
“The violence that occurred on January 26 and the Red Fort incident was a conspiracy to break the farmers’ movement and the government has succeeded in doing that,” Tikait said.
He said that the January 26 violence was a conspiracy to “malign the farmer unions and distance Punjab from the rest of the country”.
Delhi Police has named 37 farmer leaders, including Rakesh Tikait, Yogendra Yadav and Medha Patkar, in an FIR in the January 26 violence case that mentioned charges of attempt to murder, rioting and criminal conspiracy.
Delhi Police issued a notice to Tikait asking to explain why legal action should not be taken against him for breaching the agreement with police regarding the tractor rally on January 26.
The notice also reads, “You are also directed to provide names of the perpetrators of such violent acts belonging to your organisation. You are directed to submit your response within 3 days.”
Rakesh Tikait, who has been leading the protest at the Ghazipur border, on Thursday said that farmers will head to local Police stations around the border if the power supply is cut off in the area. He warned that the onus of what happens next would lie on the government.
Commenting on Punjabi actor Deep Sidhu’s alleged involvement in the Republic Day violence in Delhi, the BKU spokesperson said: “Someone goes there and hoists a flag, why was no firing done? Where was the police? How did he go there? Police allowed him to leave and didn’t arrest him. Nothing has been done even now. Who was the person who maligned an entire community and organisation?”
After the January 26 violence, 19 people have been arrested and over 25 criminal cases registered by Delhi Police, Police Commissioner (CP) SN Shrivastava had said on Wednesday adding that 394 police personnel sustained injuries in the violence and several of them are still admitted to hospitals.
Several public and private properties were damaged in acts of vandalism by the protestors. A total of 22 FIRs have been filed by the Delhi Police with one of them mentioning the incident at ITO where a farmer died after his tractor overturned.
(With inputs from ANI)