As anticipated or rather feared by many observers of the ongoing farmers’ protest in the national capital, things are becoming more critical now and the Republic Day ‘mishap’ is in no way going to act as a bumper. From Thursday night to late Friday evening a series of incidents of violence have taken place and it’s very unfortunate that the protest which till the Republic Day had been democratic all throughout has now taken a sordid turn. From government versus the farmers it’s now farmers versus locals at the outskirts of Delhi and if things are not brought under control, a civil-war-like situation seems waiting to erupt. The Supreme Court’s forecast that the protest has all the qualities to turn into a national chaos is coming true and the Centre must take a decision without wasting time and that ideally can never be a force-oriented one.

After the Republic Day happenings when all things went in the wrong direction and with the arrival of avalanches of reprimands directed towards the agitating farmers, it was assumed that at least there will be no further repetition of violence. But Friday saw the return of tear gas and raining of lathis after a group of men claiming to be local residents clashed with the farmers sitting at the Singhu border. Eyebrows are being raised why the locals who never said a word against the farmers during the preceding two months of the agitation have suddenly felt the urgency of raising their voice. Are they being deliberately pitted against the farmers- is a big question doing the rounds? It is perhaps the latest addition to the long list of unanswered questions that have made the entire issue almost out of control now. First, why were there no extensive talks before the passage of the bills and why there was such a hurry? Leaders of 18 opposition parties have boycotted the President’s customary address to a joint sitting of Parliament ahead of the Budget session in solidarity with farmer unions that has little precedence and there are strong reasons to believe that  the agitation will spread to other big cities too if the rigidity on the part of the government over total repeal the laws persists. More new developments, all clear forerunners of a major trouble in the making are taking place with every passing hour and the Shiromani Akali Dal which has already snapped ties with the NDA has appealed to its workers to reach the protest sites at the fringes of the national capital to extend solidarity with the farmers.

A national chaos is in the making which unfortunately has its origin in the national capital and there are no 'serious' efforts till now towards a solution. 

---

Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

<< Back to News List