Delhi violence: Actor Deep Sidhu, activist Lakha Sidhana played a major role in instigating protesters, say reports

Actor Deep Sidhu and gangster-turned-activist Lakha Sidhana played a major role in instigating the violence during the farmers’ tractor rally in Delhi on January 26.

According to news reports, Sidhu and Sidhana came to Delhi two days ago and gave a provocative speech to the protesters at the Singhu border. Sidhu, who campaigned for the BJP’s Sunny Deol in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, and Sidhana, who has 26 cases registered against him, have been camping with protesting farmers at the Singhu border since November.

Several farmer leaders, including Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Haryana unit chief Gurnam Singh Chaduni, have distanced themselves from the violence that rocked central Delhi on Republic Day and alleged that Deep Sidhu instigated the protesters and led them to the Red Fort. They also alleged that he was behind the act of hoisting the religious flag in the Red Fort removing the National flag.

Reacting to allegations that he instigated the farmers to march towards the Red Fort, the actor sought to defend his action, saying he and his supports did not remove the national flag. Sidhu said that he had put up the ‘Nishan Sahib’ as a symbolic protest at the Red Fort. The ‘Nishan Sahib’ flag, a symbol of Sikh religion, is seen at all Gurdwara complexes.

In a video posted on Facebook on Tuesday evening, Sidhu claimed it was not a planned move and that they should not be given any communal colour or dubbed as fundamentalists or hardliners. “To symbolically register our protest against the new farm legislation, we put up ‘Nishan Sahib’ and a farmer flag and also raised the slogan and also raised the slogan of Kisan Mazdoor Ekta,” said Sidhu.