Farmers protest live news: Farmers gather at Tikri border to listen to union leaders.
A day after the national capital witnessed unprecedented violence during Republic Day tractor rally - the Delhi Police on Wednesday alleged that farmer leaders made inflammatory speeches and were involved in the violence that left 394 of its personnel injured.
Addressing a press conference, Delhi police commissioner SN Srivastava said farmer unions broke the barricades and refused to stick to the designated route. As many as 25 FIRs have been registered so far, the senior police officer said, adding that no culprit will be spared.
Farmer leaders today appealed to protesting farmers to maintain peace and said their agitation against the centre's agricultural laws is a long one. Farmers also said they have suspended plans for a march to parliament next Monday, when the country's annual budget will be unveiled.
Meanwhile, Punjabi actor Deep Sidhu has come under scrutiny for the violence in Delhi. The actor-activist, once known to be close to movie star-turned-BJP MP Sunny Deol, was last seen at Red Fort, which became the epicenter of the chaos that descended upon Delhi. In a post on Facebook last evening, Deep Sidhu has defended the act, saying the protesters did not remove the national flag but put up the "Nishan Sahib" as a symbolic protest. He also claimed that it was a spontaneous act.
Satnam Singh Pannu, the farmer leader who knocked down the first barricade has denied any role in the Red Fort breach, has blamed the ruling BJP of organising the Red Fort violence to tarnish the farmer protests.
Here are the live updates on farmers' protest:
Congress Can't Escape Responsibility From Farmers' R-Day Violence: Prakash Javadekar
Blaming the Congress for the violence during the farmers' tractor rally on Republic Day, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said that they cannot escape responsibility from violence as it is in power in Punjab, according to news agency Press Trust of India.
Red Fort Incident Should Be Probed, There Is Conspiracy Behind It: Yogendra Yadav
The Red Fort incident should be probed, there is conspiracy behind it, Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.
Will Hold Rallies Across India On Martyrs' Day: Bhartiya Kisan Union Leader
Delhi Police briefs on the clashes that unfolded on Republic Day:
- Farmers at Singhu broke the barricades at 6.30 am itself. They didn't stick to designated route.
- Darshan Pal Singh too refused to stick to the designated route
- Similar defiance at Tikri and Ghazipur borders also.
- The official event of Republic Day was to end at 12 noon. Hence 12-5 pm was fixed.
- Bhutta Singh along with his team indulged in violence at Nangloi junction (Tikri border).
- Farmers along with Rakesh Tikait indulged in violence at Ghazipur and reached Red Fort.
- Police had got all the options but exercised restraint despite all the options. We didn't want any loss of life.
- 394 police personnel injured. Some are still in hospital.
- 428 barricades, 4 X-rays, 30 PCR vehicles, 6 containers have been damaged
- We used tear gas to control the crowd.
- Some farmers reached Red Fort and hoisted religious flag.
- We have the videos of the violence. We are using facial recognition tools to identify them. All those will be arrested
- More than 25 cases have been registered. No culprit will be spared. No one will be spared. Even the unions will be investigated.
- We received intel inputs and we acted promptly on it.
- It is based on these inputs, we even acted against those 300 odd Twitter accounts.
- Not even one died because of police action.
- 19 have been arrested and 50 detained and questioned.
Post-Mortem Confirms Farmer Died Of Tractor Accident Injuries: UP PoliceA farmer from Uttar Pradesh who died in Delhi's ITO area while participating in Tuesday's tractor rally that descended into violence and chaos, was not shot as claimed by some of his fellow protesters yesterday, the UP police said today. The 26-year-old man's post-mortem examination has confirmed that he died from injuries received in a tractor accident, police added.
Read more
Two farmer unions withdraw from agitation against farm laws citing Republic Day violence
Two farmer unions on Wednesday withdrew from the ongoing agitation on Delhi's borders against the three farm laws, a day after violence broke out in the national capital during the tractor parade.
Talking to reporters, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Bhanu) president Thakur Bhanu Pratap Singh said he was deeply pained by whatever happened during the tractor parade in the national capital, adding that his union was ending its protest.
The union was staging the protest at the Chilla border.
VM Singh of All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee said that it is withdrawing from the ongoing agitation as they cannot carry forward a protest with someone "whose direction is something else".
Home Minister Amit Shah reviews law and order in Delhi
A day after farmers' tractor rally turned violent in Delhi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday took stock of the security situation and measures taken to ensure peace in the city, officials said.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and senior officers of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Delhi Police attended the meeting.
The home minister reviewed the law and order situation in Delhi, which witnessed violence during the farmers' tractor rally on Tuesday, a Home Ministry official said.
Mr Shah was also briefed by the officials about the steps taken to ensure peace in the national capital, the official said.
There is a possibility of police taking action against farmers leaders, who signed an agreement with the police on the carrying out peaceful tractor rally through designated routes but failed to keep the promise, another official said.
The central government has already deployed around 4,500 paramilitary troops to assist the Delhi Police in maintaining law and order.
After the violence, the MHA on Tuesday had ordered temporary suspension of Internet for 12 hours in parts of Delhi.
JustIn| Indian National Lok Dal legislator Abhay Singh Chautala resigns from Haryana Assembly over farm laws.
Tractor rally violence: No one should do politics over violence, says BJP's Devendra Fadnavis
Former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis condemned the violence in Delhi and said said farm leaders leading the protest should introspect why such an incident took place. No one should do politics over violence that broke out during the farmers' protest, he said.
"What happened yesterday in the national capital was not right. I think no one should do politics and it is not right to do politics on this kind of violence," Mr Fadnavis was qupted as saying by news agency PTI
Union Minister Prahlad Patel, who visited Red Fort this morning, said that he has directed officials to send a report to the Home Ministry over the violence at the 17th century monument. "I inspected Red Fort with officers of Culture Ministry & Archaeological Survey of India today. I gave 2 directions- report be made at the earliest & handed over to MHA & FIR be registered immediately. Things will be further clarified after report comes," said Mr Patel, who holds Tourism department in the central government, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Delhi cop attacked with sword in tractor rally violence, says police
A policeman was attacked with a sword during the clashes in Delhi, police has said in its First Information Report. "The Additional DCP Central's operator was attacked with a sword at ITO on Tuesday during the violence," the police said, according to news agency ANI. The incident took place just outside the Delhi Police headquarters at ITO, a key intersection in Delhi. (Read full story
here)
Actor Deep Sidhu's role under scrutiny, farmers have accused him of planting "Nishan Sahib" at Red Fort
Punjabi actor Deep Sidhu has come under scrutiny for the violence in Delhi. The actor-activist, once known to be close to movie star-turned-BJP MP Sunny Deol, was last seen at Red Fort, which became the epicenter of the chaos that descended upon Delhi.
Farmers have accused him of planting the "Nishan Sahib" or Sikh religious flag at the Red Fort, an act that has provoked outrage, especially on social media. Images of protesters armed with sticks occupying the 400-year-old Mughal monument has drawn criticism even from those who backed the farmers' agitation. (Read full story
here)
Farmer protests news: 200 people taken into custody, will be arrested soon, say Police
Delhi Police has detained 200 people in connection with the violence during farmers' tractor rally in the city yesterday, it said. "Delhi Police detains 200 people in connection with the violence during farmers' tractor rally in the city yesterday. They will be arrested soon," it said.
Farmer Leaders appeal to protesters for peace, says agitation against agri laws is a long one
Farmer leaders have appealed to protesting farmers to maintain peace and said their agitation is a long one. The farmer leaders have distanced themselves from those behind Tuesday's violence and alleged a conspiracy to defame their movement. One farmer died on the way to Red Fort, with the police saying it was an accident. Over 300 police personnel were injured in Tuesday's violence and 22 cases have been registered, Delhi Police said.
Large number of farmers have gathered at Tikri border, which is one of the border joints near Delhi.
Important to respect peaceful protests: UN chief on tractor rally violence
A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said it is important to respect peaceful protests, freedom of assembly and non-violence. Secretary-General Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric, in his response to a question on the violence in New Delhi during his daily press briefing on Tuesday, said: "As we say in many of these cases, I think it''s important to respect peaceful protests, freedom of assembly and non-violence".
Union Minister Prahlad Patel visited Red Fort earlier today
Earlier Union Minister Prahlad Patel visited the Red Fort. Mr Patel had condemned the violence at the iconic 17th century monument.
"The Red Fort is a symbol of the dignity of our democracy, the agitators should have stayed away from the Red Fort. I condemn the violation of its dignity. It is sad and unfortunate," he said in a tweet in Hindi.
Tractor rally latest news: Farmer who broke first barricade defends move, denies going to red fort
The farmer leader who knocked down the first barricade has denied any role in the Red Fort breach. Satnam Singh Pannu blamed the ruling BJP of organising the Red Fort violence to tarnish the farmer protests.
Satnam Singh Pannu and members of his Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, a smaller group participating in the two-month protests against three farm laws, were responsible for breaking through the first barricade at Delhi's borders, at a point called the "Muqarba Chowk". (Read full story
here)
A gypsy of the Quick Response Team that was vandalised by farmers during the violence at Red Fort yesterday.
Farmers' protest live updates: Mayawati terms violence in Delhi ''unfortunate''
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati termed "unfortunate" the incidents of violence during farmers' tractor parade in Delhi.
She reiterated her appeal to the Centre to withdraw the three new farm laws immediately and end the long-running agitation of the farmers so that no such untoward incident can happen again.
Her remarks come after tens of thousands of farmers broke barriers to storm the national capital on Tuesday.
Buses that were vandalised being removed from ITO. Eight buses and 17 private vehicles were vandalised as protesting farmers clashed with police during tractor rally, the police said.
Farmers' Tractor rally latest news: 22 cases filed, many farmers' leader named, say sources
Delhi Police have filed 22 cases in connection with the violence so far, NDTV has learnt from sources. Many farm leaders have been mentioned in the FIR, they said.
They also added that the Crime Branch and Special Cell will conduct the investigations.
"Farmers’ movement foundational, not about unfurling any flag": Farm leader
Avik Saha, National Convenor, Jai Kisan Andolan, said that the farmers' movement is not about unfurling any flag, or any violence.
"We must remember the farmers' movement is foundational; it's not about unfurling any flag, or any violence... The movement will move from strength to strength," Mr Saha said.
Farmers Protest: Day After Clashes, Farmer Leaders To Address Protesters Today: 10 PointsFarmer leaders from Punjab will address protesting farmers at one of the key Delhi-Haryana borders this morning, a day after the capital witnessed unprecedented violence as a Republic Day tractor rally by farmers in protest of the centre's agricultural laws went off the scheduled course and rolled into the iconic Mughal-era Red Fort. One farmer died on the way to Red Fort, with the police saying it was an accident. 86 police personnel were injured in Tuesday's violence and 15 cases have been registered, Delhi Police said."
Anti-social elements responsible for violence: Farm leader
One of the key farmer groups has called off the tractor rally, accusing anti-social elements of being responsible for the violence. "Those associated with our organisation have all come back from Delhi. Some political parties wanted to see violence in the protest from our end," says RS Cheema, Farmer Leader.
Farmer protest latest news: 15 cases filed over tractor rally violence, say police
The Delhi Police have filed 15 cases in connection with the violence during the Republic Day tractor rally. Eight buses and 17 private vehicles were vandalised, the police said.
The Delhi Police also said 86 policemen were injured in the violence, which took place mostly in and around Mukarba Chowk, Gazipur, ITO, Seemapuri, Nangloi T-Point, Tikri Border and the Red Fort. Baricades were broken at Ghazipur, Tikri and Singhu borders.
The police said they are also registering cases of violation of lawful directions, rioting, damage to public property and assault on public servants with deadly weapons. (Read full story
here)
JUST IN: Farmer leaders will hold a meeting at 10 am in Singhu border
Delhi Police had enough time to prepare themselves: Former Cop
Ramesh Bhatia, former Additional DCP, Delhi Police tells NDTV that the police had enough time to prepare themselves.
"DelhiPolice had enough time to prepare themselves. But as a professional I can make out that they had some instructions to allow farmers to enter Delhi," says Mr Bhatia.
Farmer protests live updates: 15 companies of paramilitary forces sent to Delhi after Tuesday's violenceHome Minister Amit Shah has ordered additional paramilitary forces in Delhi after Tuesday's violence.
"15 companies of paramilitary forces were sent to Delhi. Ten were from CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) and rest five were from other paramilitary forces. Similarly, five companies were on standby today," news agency ANI quoted an unnamed official as saying.
Farmers' tractor rally news: 83 Police personnel were injured after being attacked by agitating farmers yesterday, as per Delhi Police.
There is heavy police presence at the iconic Red Fort. On Tuesday, the 17th century monument in the Old City witnessed unprecedented violence as protesting farmers entered the forecourt of the fort, climbed its ramparts, and hoisted a religious flag on a mast outside. The police, wielding batons, later managed to remove them from inside the fort.
Delhi Metro Shuts Entry Gates Of Lal Quila Station, Exit Allowed