Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait on Thursday has informed that protesting farmers will be moving to local police stations at the Ghazipur border if electricity is cut off in the area.
“We will move to local police stations at Ghazipur border if the power supply is cut off in the areas. What happens next would lie on the government,” he warned.
Tikait’s statement came after Uttar Pradesh authorities on Wednesday night allegedly switched off the streets lights at Delhi’s Ghazipur border where farmers are protesting against the three contentious farm laws.
According to reports, streets lights were switched off from 10:30 pm till the wee hours of Thursday morning at the Ghazipur border. The protesting farmers are claiming that authorities are attempting to scare them away. Some have alleged that the Uttar Pradesh authorities were behind this move.
Meanwhile, the UP Police removed protesting farmers blocking the National Highway in Baghpat. Following the orders of the District Magistrate, the farmers were removed from the spot. According to reports, the National Highways Association of India (NHAI) sent a request to the Magistrate to the Baghpat administration stating that it had to complete pending construction work.
Additional District Magistrate Amit Kumar Singh told a leading news channel that the farmers left the site peacefully. “NHAI had written to us because their work was getting obstructed due to the protests. We had come here to get the site vacated. We did not use any force to remove the protestors from the site. The protesters including, a few elderly people left the site peacefully,” he said.
However, videos of police allegedly resorting to lathicharge at Baghpat has gone viral on social media.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has sent a notice to BKU spokesperson Tikait in connection with the Republic Day violence that saw many police personnel getting injured and one farmer losing his life.
In its notice, the Delhi Police has asked Tikait to explain why legal action should not be taken against him for breaching the agreement between the Delhi Police and farmer leaders. The police have given Tikait three days to respond to the notice. Police also directed him to hand over the names of the perpetrators of his organization involved in the Republic Day violence.
Tikait distanced himself from the Republic Day violence and alleges that a conspiracy is there to malign the farmers’ movement. The farmer leaders have alleging controversy since the Republic Day violence. Leaders are claiming anti-social elements like actor Deep Sidhu were responsible for the violence and, the farmer leaders had nothing to do with it. The Delhi Police has named at least eight farmer leaders in the FIR related to the violence. A look-out notice is issued against these leaders.
The Delhi Police has also filed a case against Sidhu. The special cell of the Delhi Police is looking for Sidhu. Reports suggest that Sidhu is being called for questioning in regard to his alleged role in instigating violence.
Shortly after the FIRs were filed, Sidhu posted a video on his Facebook account where he hit out at farmer leaders for calling him a traitor. “If I am being labelled a traitor, then all farmer leaders are traitors. If you are claiming that I instigated lakhs of people, what kind of leaders are you? Will an RSS-BJP supporter put the Nishan Sahib flag on Red Fort? You are calling lakhs of farmers as traitors,” he said in Punjabi.
Meanwhile, police have been beefed up security at Delhi borders after Tuesday’s incident. Police have also placed barricades at the Singhu border to avoid protesters from coming from one side of the road to another.
