Farmers to continue with peaceful agitation

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, January 27

Swaraj Abhiyan chief Yogendra Yadav on Wednesday released a video saying the farmer leaders could not escape the moral responsibility of being unable to manage the tractor parade they called for and that the movement would learn from past mistakes, evolve and crack down on saboteurs.

Yadav spoke of the alleged role of Deep Sidhu in the Red Fort violence and asked why the police allowed the Sidhu faction to run riot knowing his history of separatism and sympathy with Khalistani elements.

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“Kisan Sangharsh Samiti is a farm union from Punjab but it has never been part of our larger umbrella of agitating unions. They are sitting away from where we are sitting and it’s a mystery why the police have allowed them. If the police had asked us who the potential saboteurs of the tractor parade would be, we would have told them in advance. But no one asked us. It is also strange why these people despite their well-documented history and affiliations were allowed to enter the capital and do what they did,” said Yadav.

He, however, said the farm unions could not escape the moral accountability for what happened and would have to take a stern view of elements trying to damage the movement.

“We can’t go soft on such elements anymore,” he said, adding that the movement could succeed only if it remained peaceful and that the movement would continue and move past Tuesday’s events to return to the original path.

“We are all anguished at what happened. The way forward is clear. The movement is strong, it has a lot of energy, and it will continue peacefully,” he said.