Farmers' Tractor March: ‘Come Armed With Lathis & Flags,’ Rakesh Tikait's Message To Farmers Ahead Of Rally Goes Viral

BKU Leader Rakesh Tikait has denied the charges that he attempted to instigate the farmers in the video that went viral. The rioters stormed the Red Fort and damaged property at several places in the national capital.

Image: PTI

Farmers' Tractor March: After 60 days of protesting peacefully at Delhi borders, the farmers protest on Republic Day took an ugly turn as unprecedented violence broke out during the tractor march of the protesters. A video of farm union leader Rakesh Tikait has surfaced on social media wherehe can be seen appealing to supporters to be prepared with lathis and hoist their flag, hinting that the entire episode could be pre-planned.

In the video, Tikait can be heard saying, “enough is enough now be armed with lathis and hoist your flag or you won’t be able to save your land.”

Talking to ABP News, Tikait accepted his statement in the video which went viral but denied charges that he attempted to instigate the farmers. He said: “Yes I told them Jhanda aur Danda le aana, but we did not use any of it. There is nothing wrong in that.”

The video is being shared widely on Twitter:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">ALL THIS WAS PLANNED. Listen to Rakesh Tikait inciting them to get Lаthis &amp; plant their flag <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ArrestRakeshTikait?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>#ArrestRakeshTikait</a> <a href="https://t.co/CYaXNxloCd" rel='nofollow'>pic.twitter.com/CYaXNxloCd</a></p>&mdash; Rosy (@rose_k01) <a href="https://twitter.com/rose_k01/status/1354127473290612736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>January 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Deep Sidhu & Lakha Sidhana also among accused

So far, two other names have surfaced for instigating the violence. Actor Deep Sidhu who is blamed for the Red Fort incident, and another gangster turned activist Lakha Sidhana for mobilng the farmers. It is reported that on Monday evening, Deep Sidhu took over the main stage at Singhu, and Sidhana, announced they would hold the march inside Delhi.

Tikait blamed anti-social elements, Delhi Police action

Tikait said that some antisocial elements were behind the violence during the farmers' tractor parade in the national capital on Tuesday. It was due to the Delhi Police's actions that some antisocial elements entered the parade and caused the violence, he said.

Scores of people were injured when the tractor protest by farmers protesting the new farm laws turned violent, clashing with police. The rioters stormed the Red Fort and damaged property at several places in the national capital.