Farmers' Protest: We hoisted 'Nishan Sahib' at Red Fort, didn't remove Tricolour, claims actor Deep Sidhu

Chandigarh, Jan 26: Amid a massive outrage over protesters hoisting a religious flag at the Red Fort during the tractor rally on Republic Day, actor Deep Sidhu, who was among those present during the incident, on Tuesday sought to defend their action, saying it was a symbolic protest and they did not remove the national flag.

In a video posted on Facebook, he said that they should not be given any communal colour or dubbed as fundamentalists or hardliners.

"To symbolically register our protest against the new farm legislations, we put up 'Nishan Sahib' and a farmer flag and also raised a slogan of Kisan Mazdoor Ekta," said Sidhu. The flag represents the country's "unity in diversity", he said while pointing towards the 'Nishan Sahib', a symbol of Sikh religion seen at all Gurdwara complexes.

He stated that the national flag was not removed from the flagpole at the Red Fort and that nobody raised a question over the country's unity and integrity.

Chief of the Haryana unit of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), Gurnam Singh Chaduni has accused Punjabi singer and actor Deep Sidhu of inciting and misguiding protesters. Violence broke out during a tractor rally organised by farmers in Delhi on Tuesday.

Who is Deep Sidhu?

For those unversed about who Deep Sidhu Deep Sidhu, a 1984-born Punjabi actor from Muktsar district, studied law and practiced for a brief period before he quit the Bar to work in films after winning the Kingfisher Model Hunt award.

His first film happens to be 2015 release Ramta Jogi however he achieved fame through his 2018 release 'Jora Das Numbria.'

In the same, he was seen playing the role of a young gangster. The film's sequel Jora Das Numbria-Second Chapter released in the month of March 2020 when the coronavirus lockdown was imposed.

However according to reports, Sidhu is considered close to Bollywood star and Bharatiya Janta Party's Gurdaspur MP Sunny Deol.

BJP MP Sunny Deol said he is extremely saddened by the incident at the Red Fort. "I had earlier, on December 6 through Twitter said that neither I nor my family has any links to Deep Sidhu," Deol added.