Farmers continue their sit-in protest at the Ghazipur border even after the local administration asked to vacate all protest sites after an order from the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Heavy security arrangements were made at the Delhi Ghazipur border on Thursday night with an intention to remove the farmers from the site but the farmers refused to budge, with their leader Rakesh Tikait declaring that he is “ready to face bullets” if needed.Â
After hours of face-off between the farmers and the security forces, the force left the place late on Thursday night. Though, the Ghazibur, Singhu and Tikir borders are witnessing huge deployment of security forces on Friday morning
Delhi: Heavy security deployment continues at Tikri Border where farmers are protesting against #FarmLaws pic.twitter.com/6gRDMxU9OL
— ANI (@ANI) January 29, 2021
Here are some key points on what has been happening after the violence:
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Delhi Police Thursday issued lookout notices against farmer leaders and announced a probe into the “conspiracy” behind the Republic Day violence, even as the Ghaziabad administration gave an ultimatum to the protesters at UP Gate to vacate the site by midnight.
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Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait, however, told reporters at the UP gate in Ghazipur bordering Delhi that he would rather commit suicide than leave and end the protest against the farm laws, setting the stage for a confrontation with security personnel. Thousands of farmers from the BKU are camping at the protest site since November 28.
- After BKU leader Rakesh Tikait became emotional on camera and declared a hunger strike, farmers are returning back to the protest site to support their leader and to continue their protest against the government’s Farm Laws
- Heavy forces have been deployed again on Friday morning at the Gahipur protest site after security personnels left the site on Thursday night.
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Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said the Delhi Police issuing lookout notices against farmer leaders over the tractor rally violence is “absolutely wrong”. He also said treating the farmers as “flight risk” was not only “illogical but condemnable”. “Where will they flee?” asked the chief minister, adding that most of them are small farmers with small landholdings and not some “big corporate raiders” who had fled over the past few years after “looting” the country of billions of rupees.Â
- Â Delhi Traffic Police said that Singhu, Auchandi, Mangesh, Saboli, Piau Maniyari borders were closed for traffic. Lampur, Safiabad, Singhu school, and Palla toll tax borders were opened. Meanwhile, the Ghazipur border is also closed for traffic. Traffic has been diverted from NH 24, NH 9, Road no 56, 57 A, Kondli, Paper market, Telco T point, EDM Mall, Akshardham, and Nizammudin Khatta.
- As per news agency ANI, a group of people claiming to be locals of the Singhu border gathered on Thursday and raised slogans, demanding the area to be vacated. People were raising slogans including ‘will not tolerate tricolor’s insult’, ‘vacate Singhu border’, ‘Delhi Police we are with you’ and ‘Khalistan murdabad’. At the Singhu border point, a ‘Sadbhawana March’ was taken out by protesting farmer unions.
- Members of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Lok Shakti) and BKU (Ekta) met Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday. They said they were also hurt by the Red Fort incident, adding the government had assured them it would continue with commitments made during talks with farmers.
- Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and six journalists have been booked by the Noida Police for sedition, among other charges, over the violence during farmers’ tractor rally in Delhi.Â
- Sanyukt Kisan Morcha Chief Yogendra Yadav got emotional during a Facebook Live session while he was speaking about the farmers’ protest and how people are threatening him on social media and otherwise for standing with the farmers. Yogendra Yadav has also been booked for inciting violence at the Delhi Red Fort post that he is being trolled online. Yadav said that not only he but his parents, sister, and wife are also facing abusive behaviour by people around him and online.