Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait's warning that farmers would burn their crops if there is a crackdown on their protest, backfired today. Mr Tikait was forced to issue a clarification after a group of farmers in Haryana's Jind jumped the gun and started pulling crops off their fields.
Visuals from Gulkani village showed a group of women and men, raising slogans of Kisan ekta (farmers'unity), pull out crops by hand. A few others escalated the process, driving a tractor over the crops.
What they thought was a call to action was Mr Tikait's words at a Mahapanchayat in Hisar -- 70-odd km away from Jind -- earlier this week.
"The Centre should not be under any misconception that farmers will go back for crop harvesting. If they insisted (cracking down the protest), then we will burn our crops. They should not think that protest will end in two months. We will harvest as well as protest," Mr Tikait had said.
"This is an appeal to farmers not to do this. This was not what was asked for," Mr Tikait said in a Hindi tweet this afternoon, attaching a news clip showing the rampaging tractor.
Mr Tikait's comments came as farmer leaders have stepped up their efforts to take their protest against the Centre's three farm laws across the country. The decision was made after months of dialogue with the Centre that failed to resolve the deadlock over the issue.
The Centre has made it clear that it is not ready to repeal the laws as demanded by the farmers. The protesters have shot down the Centre's last offer -- suspending the laws for 18 months as negotiations continue.
Over the last weeks, the farmers have held protests in parts of the country, blocking roads and railway tracks and have tried to rope in Dalits and labourers into their movement.
Jind was the first district in the region to have sent people to support Mr Tikait when the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border at Ghazipur was being forcibly vacated last month.
Rakesh Tikait, who was leading a contingent of UP farmers at the sit-down protest on the highway, had broken down in full view of cameras after a police ultimatum.
"I'd rather face bullets than leave," he had declared emotionally.
His refusal had not only stopped farmers about to leave the site, it also acted a call to others in the hinterland who started moving towards Delhi, injecting hope and passion into the movement that was flagging after the Republic Day tractor rally violence.
Farmers Prep For March To Delhi After Haryana Told To Remove Roadblocks "How Can State Block...": Supreme Court To Haryana On Shambhu Border Crossing High Court Orders Removal Of Barricades At Shambhu Border Within 7 Days 25,000 Aspirants For Airport Jobs Paying Rs 22,000: A Mumbai Stampede Scare Puja Khedkar's Disability Document Has Factory Address, Ration Card Proof Prank Goes Wrong: Woman Falls From 3rd Floor In Mumbai Building, Dies "This Is The Final Straw": Elon Musk Moving X And SpaceX Out Of California Urvashi Rautela's Bathroom Video Real Or PR Stunt? Internet Debates Siddaramaiah Deletes Post On 100% Quota Bill, Karnataka Minister Clarifies Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.