Republic Day 2021: Delhi police gives green light to farmers' tractor rally on Jan 26, finalises route

As the farmers' agitation at the Delhi borders entered the 60th day on Sunday, all eyes are on the farmers' tractor rally (kisan parade) on Republic Day.

The protesting farmers received permission from the Delhi Police on Sunday to hold their tractor rally on Republic Day. "Protesting farmers can enter Delhi but can't disturb the Republic Day parade," the Delhi Police said this evening. The Police said that the farmers' proposed tractor rally on Tuesday will begin amid tight security after Republic Day celebrations conclude.

"The tractor rally will enter Delhi from Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur borders and return to its originating points. From Singhu, it will pass through Kanjhawala, Bawana, Auchandi border, KMP Expressway & then return to Singhu," ANI quoted Dependra Pathak, Special CP, Intelligence, Delhi Police, as saying.

"From Tikri border, it will go to Nagloi and pass through Najafgarh and Western Peripheral Expressway. From Ghazipur border, the rally will go to 56-foot road and return to its originating point passing through Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal Expressway," he said.

"For the security arrangements of the tractor rally, we will be providing required Police deployment realising that there are elements of threat to create disturbance in the rally," he added.

Earlier, the unions held talks with the Delhi Police on Saturday where the former claimed to have taken permission to carry out a tractor rally, while the police said the talks were in final stages.

Delhi Police said the protesting farmers have not given anything in writing regarding the route of the proposed tractor rally on January 26. "When the protesting farmers would give us in writing about the route of the proposed tractor rally on January 26, we will analyse it and make a decision," an official told news agency ANI.

Joginder Singh, the farmer leader of Punjab's Malwa region and President of the Bharatiya Kisan Union Ekta (Ugrahan), said more farmers were marching towards Delhi along with their tractors from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and other provinces of the country to take part in the tractor rally.

"Volunteers have been assigned specific works for the farmers' parade", he said, adding that more than one lakh tractors were ready to take part in the parade, and women too would march to Delhi in open trolleys.

Around 25,000 tractors from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand will participate in the 'kisan parade' in the national capital on January 26, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said on Saturday.

"No political person will be allowed to participate," PTI quoted BKU national spokesperson as saying.

The leaders said they were making preparations to carry out the farmers' Republic Parade on the outer ring road within the National Capital Region (NCR).

Punjab farmer leader and General Secretary of the BKU, Parminder Singh Pal Majra, said lakhs of farmers would participate in the rally. He informed that this rally would take place within a radius of 100 km in the NCR.

The farmer unions have clearly said they would carry out the tractor rally in a peaceful manner.

Farmer leaders held a marathon meeting on Saturday to reconsider the government's proposal to put the legislation on hold for 18 months, but no consensus could be reached.

This came a day after the government asked the farmer leaders to revert by Saturday in case they agree to its proposal to suspend the legislation.

The farmers' unions have held 11 rounds of talks with the Central government so far. The farmers have been sitting on protest at the Delhi borders since November 26 last year.

The farmers have been demanding a repeal of the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020, implemented by the Central government last year as well as the legal guarantee for the procurement of crops at the Minimum Support Price (MSP).

(With agency inputs)