Punjab CM Amarinder Singh says violence in Delhi unacceptable, orders high alert in Punjab

Chandigarh, Jan 26: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said the violence during the farmers'' tractor parade against the new agriculture laws in Delhi is unacceptable even as he ordered a high alert in his state.

The chief minister condemned the incidents that took place at the historic Red Fort and urged the farmers to immediately vacate the national capital and return to the borders, where they had been protesting peacefully for the past two months.

Singh ordered a high alert in Punjab amid the tension and violence in Delhi, and directed Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta to ensure that law and order in the state is not deteriorated at any cost.

Expressing grave concern over the situation unfolding in the national capital, the Punjab chief minister said the violence was apparently triggered by some people who violated the rules laid down for the tractor march through mutual agreement between the Delhi Police and the farmer unions.

It was unfortunate that these elements disturbed the peaceful agitation of the farmers, he said in a statement issued here.

Singh also condemned the incidents that took place at the Red Fort and other places in the national capital.

Pointing out that the farmers' leaders have already and categorically dissociated themselves from the violence, he said the agitating farmers should immediately vacate the national capital and get back to their camps at the borders and continue to engage with the Centre to resolve the crisis over the agri laws.

"Shocking scenes in Delhi. The violence by some elements is unacceptable. It''ll negate goodwill generated by peacefully protesting farmers. Kisan leaders have disassociated themselves & suspended #TractorRally. I urge all genuine farmers to vacate Delhi & return to borders," the chief minister tweeted.

Singh called upon the farmers to continue to exercise the restraint with which they had conducted their peaceful protests for the past two months at the Delhi borders and in Punjab prior to that.

Saying that peace had been the hallmark of their agitation and the reason for the support they had received from across India and the world, he stressed the need for law and order to be maintained at all costs during the democratic protests by the farmers.

Wielding sticks and clubs and holding the tricolour and union flags, tens of thousands of farmers atop tractors broke barriers, clashed with police and entered Delhi from various points to lay siege to the Red Fort and climb the flagpole on Republic Day on Tuesday.

Singh on Monday had appealed to farmers to ensure their tractor parade remains peaceful as their stir against the "anti-farmer" laws have been so far.

Farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at several border points of Delhi for the past several weeks, demanding a repeal of the three farm laws and a legal guarantee to the minimum support price (MSP) for their crops.