Use of force by Modi government to crush farmers’ movement seems imminent after Republic Day ruckus

The naming of actor and activist Deep Sidhu in an FIR lodged by Delhi Police in connection with the ruckus at the Red Fort on Republic Day seems to lend credence to the stand taken by farmers’ leaders, including eight time MP and leader of All India Kisan Sabha, Hannan Mollah that the violent incidents witnessed in Delhi during the tractor rally could not have happened without ‘connivance of people in the ruling regime’.

Mollah released a video statement on Wednesday contending that the violence was a ‘well-planned conspiracy to derail the farmers’ protest and malign us’. The Samyukt Kisan Moracha, an umbrella body of the farmers’ unions, too had issued a similar statement on Tuesday evening.

Sidhu, who has owned up to the fact that he was part of the group that hoisted the ‘nishan sahib’ flag at Red Fort in a Facebook video, is known to be close to BJP MP from Gurdaspur Sunny Deol and had even campaigned for him in the 2019 elections. Photographs of Sidhu posing with PM Narendra Modi and meeting the Union Home Minister Amit Shah have also surfaced on social media.

These facts and the farmers’ stance notwithstanding, mainstream and right-wing media outlets, not surprisingly, are going all out portraying the events on Republic Day as a vindication of allegations that the farmers were in fact a bunch of violent mischief-makers out to wreak havoc, if not indeed ‘Khalistanis’, the very narrative that BJP leaders and government ministers have been propounding since the agitation began.

On Tuesday, when the events were unfolding, thousands of right-wing Twitter users encouraged and incited the police to crack down harshly on the farmers.

This is in sharp contrast to the view taken by international media outlets. The BBC attributed the events to the government’s failure to consult farmers before passing the (farm) laws, a fact pointed out by several Opposition leaders including NCP president Sharad Pawar, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and several Left leaders in separate statements on Tuesday evening following the unrest. They had also pointed out that the events were an outcome of the indifference to the farmers’ plight on part of PM Modi, who has indeed failed to utter a single word on the agitation or even on the deaths of over 150 farmers since it began two months ago.

The CNN described the violence on Delhi’s streets a ‘significant challenge’ for the Narendra Modi government. “The massive protests have been a significant challenge to Modi as months of demonstrations and sit-ins across the country against his key agricultural policy have grown into a stalemate marked by deadlocked talks between farmers and his administration,” said an op-ed carried by it.

The New York Times said that “the protests were the most violent escalation in two months of generally peaceful protests”, while an article in the The Washington Post said the “Chaos represent a growing political problem”.

The government has, however, dealt with the farmers’ agitation with a ‘we know what’s best for you’ attitude bordering on downright haughtiness and disdain. Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar has ruled out any further dialogue with the farmers after they refused to take the government’s bait of ‘suspension’ of the farm laws for 18 months, a proposal apparently made with an eye on the 2022 Punjab assembly polls. The government has, of course, categorically stated that come what may, the farm laws will not be repealed, the one and only demand that the farmers are insisting on.

The question that, then, arises is what next?

In a possible sign of things to come, a petition has been filed in the Delhi High Court calling for removal of the farmers from the protest sites and deployment of the paramilitary. It remains to be seen what strictures the court passes.

In a clear sign of the government’s intent to render the farmers’ movement leaderless and rudderless, Delhi Police has issued notices to around 20 farmer leaders, including Rakesh Tikait, Balbir Singh Rajewal and Yogendra Yadav asking why legal action should not be taken against them. On Wednesday, it had issued a notice to another prominent farmer leader Darshan Pal, noting that the vandalisation at the Red Fort on Republic Day was "the most deplorable and anti-national act".

The action came after Delhi Police Commissioner S N Shrivastava on Wednesday alleged that farmer leaders were involved in the January 26 violence and warned that ‘no culprit would be spared’. The decisions were taken following a series of meetings chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah since Tuesday.

The farmers have already announced their intention to march to the Parliament on February 1, when the Budget is to be presented, which will most likely lead to clashes with the police.

In light of the events on Republic Day and the government’s hardening stance, the possibility of a bloody crackdown cannot be ruled out, with the ruling regime clearly finding itself cornered.