There is no end to the eruption of chaos and violence in the ongoing farmers protest. Farmers protesting the Centre's new agriculture laws will observe 'Sadbhavna Diwas' on Mahatma Gandhi's death anniversary on January 30 and hold a day-long fast that is according to farmers representatives.
The farmer leaders said the fast will be held from 9 AM to 5 PM and appealed to the people of the country to join them. They also asserted that their agitation will gain strength as farmers in large numbers will join them in the days ahead.
President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday expressed his sadness over the unfortunate Republic Day assault on Red Fort even as he did acknowledge the charge that the disputable three farm laws were forced on the country without any consultations.
Motherland is beckoning all the children of Bharat, to keep moving forward together; to move ahead with self-esteem and confidence of courage and aspire for the welfare of the nation.
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) January 29, 2021
The farmer leaders mentioned that the number of agitators at all the prominent protest venues - Ghazipur, Singhu and Tikri - is getting out of control after the police allegedly tried to remove farmer leader Rakesh Tikait from Ghazipur border on Thursday night.
The Delhi Police have arrested 44 people, including the man who attacked a police officer on Friday with a sword during clashes at Singhu border between Delhi and Haryana, the epicentre of the two-month long farmers' protest against three central laws.
Delhi Police supporting Farmer#FarmersProstest #मोदी_कायर_हैं #IStandWithFarmers #किसान_आंदोलन_जारी_रहेगा #IndiaVsPMModi pic.twitter.com/i9jv68zHCa
— Dinesh Chauhan (@dinesh_chauhan) January 29, 2021
The man with the sword was believed to be one of the protesting farmers who had allegedly attacked a group that made its way into the protest site in Singhu, despite heavy police presence, vandalised the protesters' tents and broke their washing machines.
The police had to fire tear gas shells and use batons to break up a clash between farmers and a large group of men claiming to be local residents who threw stones at each other. Several people including Delhi Police officer Pradeep Paliwal was injured in the violence.
At Ghazipur, one of the other protest sites, thousands of protesters continued in on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, neglecting. the Ghaziabad administration's ultimatum to leave the area.
With the crowd getting bigger after a standoff and a tearful outburst by one of the senior leaders of the movement on Thursday, security forces in large numbers were called in again.
Probing the Republic Day violence, the Delhi Police has asked nine farmer leaders - Rakesh Tikait, Pawan Kumar, Raj Kishore Singh, Tajender Singh Virk, Jitender Singh, Trilochan Singh, Gurmukh Singh, Harpreet Singh and Jagtar Singh Bajwa - to join the investigation.
Photo courtesy of Twitter.