Delhi Police on Wednesday announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh each for information on actor Deep Sidhu, Gurjant Singh, Jugraj Singh and Gurjot Singh for hoisting flags at the Red Fort during the Republic Day violence. The officials have also announced a reward of Rs 50,000 each for the arrests of Buta Singh, Jajbir Singh, Iqbal Singh and Sukhdev Singh for their alleged involvement in the violence.
Sidhu has gone underground ever since Delhi Police had filed an FIR against him for the Republic Day violence. Farmers blamed him for the chaos during the Republic Day incident and they claimed that he is a BJP worker. Sidhu, on the other hand, has been releasing videos from unknown locations. On Sunday, he released a video where he expressed his rage towards farmer unions and Punjabis for branding him as a traitor. He also tried justifying hoisting Sikh religious flags at the Red Fort on January 26 and slammed Sunny Deol for deserting the people.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Kisan Union spokesperson Rakesh Tikait has accused the Delhi Police of conspiracy behind the Republic Day violence. “The Delhi Police have conspired with others for the Republic Day violence and they are the main culprit. They barricaded the route allotted for the tractor rally and instead opened the route to Delhi, allowing farmers to enter,” he alleged.
On January 26, farmer unions hosted a tractor rally to protest against three contentious farm laws. Some protesters did not abide by the prearranged rally route and barricades were broken. This resulted in violent clashes with the police. A huge crowd of protestors on tractors made their way to the Red Fort. Some protesters scaled poles and hoisted Sikh religious flags. Union Ministers and BJP supporters alleged that the Indian flag was disrespected at the Red Fort, but the claim is still disputed. Many reports confirmed that the Indian flag was not touched nor disrespected during the violence.
Soon after the incident, tensions between farmers and the central government reached new heights. The Centre built a fortress along Delhi borders to restrict protesting farmers from entering the national capital. More farmers from across the country have joined the protests.
Farmer leaders alleged that the Centre was afraid of the movement as they cut off water and internet supply, built barricades, arrested journalists covering the protests, blocked social media accounts of those supporting the farmers and filed cases against those protesting and supporting the farmers. Farmers are holding Mahapanchayats in various states. The huge crowds are attending these events, showing the strength and support to the farmers’ agitation.
However, the Centre said that it is open for talks but is adamant on not repealing the three farm laws. Earlier, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to put the farm laws on hold. Opposition parties are cornering the Centre and demanding the repealing of the farm laws. The ongoing Parliament session witnessed the opposition up in arms against the central government. Multiple disruptions have taken place since yesterday in both houses of the Parliament. The Centre and Opposition parties agreed on giving more time to hold discussions on farmers’ issues in the Parliament.
