Farmers’ Budget day march to Parliament stands cancelled after R-Day clashes- The tractor parade was hit by a government conspiracy, say leaders

Farmer leaders address a press conference at the Singhu border, in Delhi, on Wednesday.: PTI

TT  Bureau, Agencies   |   New Delhi   |    27.01.21: Farmers’ plan to march to Parliament on February 1 when the Budget would be presented, stood cancelled on Wednesday as cracks began to appear in their ongoing agitation against the agri laws.

The decision by farmer unions came a day after massive violence during their tractor parade in the national capital that left nearly 400 police personnel injured.

The farmer leaders, however, alleged that there was a conspiracy behind Tuesday’s incidents and demanded a probe.

They said their agitation against the farm laws will continue and public meetings and hunger strikes will be held across the country on January 30.

“The tractor parade was hit by a government conspiracy. Deep Sidhu is an RSS man. Police let him go after he hoisted a religious flag at Red Fort,” farmer leader Darshan Pal, who has been accused by police of making inflammatory speeches, alleged at a press conference.

Sidhu is a former aide of actor and BJP MP Sunny Deol. Deol had distanced himself from Sidhu in December after he supported the farmers' agitation.

“We have cancelled our plan for a march to Parliament on budget day on February 1. But our agitation will continue and there will be public meetings and hunger strikes across the country on January 30,” Pal said.

Another farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal claimed that over two lakh tractors and lakhs of people participated in Tuesday's parade and “99.9 percent of the protesters were peaceful”.

Even as the farmer unions continued to allege that “anti-social” elements had perpetrated the violence to “torpedo” their peaceful agitation against the farm laws, Tuesday’s incidents that have been widely condemned started taking a toll with Bharatiya Kisan Union (Bhanu) and All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee withdrawing from the protests on the Delhi's borders.

Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav, who has been supporting the farmers’ agitation, said, “We regret the Red Fort incident and accept its moral responsibility. The incident should be probed. There is a conspiracy behind it.”

Responding to a question on farmer leaders being named in FIR, Yadav said, “FIR, jail and torture are rewards of movements.”

“We have video clippings and we will expose how a conspiracy was hatched to defame our movement,” Shivkumar Kakka said.

As many as 37 farmer leaders, including Rakesh Tikait, Yogendra Yadav, Darshan Pal and Gurnam Singh Chaduni, have been named in an FIR in connection with the violence during the tractor parade.