The police and the intelligence department were against the tractor rally, but the central government did not listen to them

- Amit Shah called a meeting after the situation worsened

New Delhi 27th January 2021 Wednesday

The Delhi Police and Intelligence Bureau had lodged a clear protest against allowing farmers to hold a tractor rally on January 26 in the capital New Delhi, but received shocking information that the central government had not listened to them.

Informed sources said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had called an emergency meeting after the situation worsened. In a meeting convened by Amit Shah on the eve of Republic Day, both the Delhi Police and the Intelligence Bureau (Central Intelligence Agency) had expressed fears that allowing farmers to stage tractor rallies could lead to violent protests in Delhi.

The Centre's Home Department did not listen to the police and intelligence agencies. It was learned that Amit Shah had called an emergency meeting after the violence escalated under the pretext of a tractor rally and the situation worsened. Perhaps the central government feared that not allowing tractor rallies would make the situation more difficult and farmers could take a final step. In fact, the permission for the tractor rally was a kind of license given to the farmers to resort to violence. The rioters reached as far as the Red Fort and insulted the country by hoisting a religious flag over the Red Fort.

The rioters marched from all the borders of Delhi to the ITO and the Red Fort with swords and iron rods and inflicted heavy casualties on the police in addition to damaging public property. Several policemen fell into a ditch behind the Red Fort and a number of policemen were beaten. Informed sources said that the decision to allow the tractor rally was taken at the political level.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah called a meeting at his home at 4 pm on January 26 when the situation became uncontrollable from morning till 3.30 pm. Earlier, rioters had stormed the Red Fort and were wreaking havoc. By the time the meeting called by Amit Shah lasted for an hour and a half, the rioters had already resorted to so much violence. When Amit Shah asked for action, it was like locking the stable after the horses ran away.

After the situation worsened, paramilitary forces were deployed in Delhi and internet service was suspended in the Indus border Ghazipur, Tikri, Makraba and Nangloi. Police were advised to exercise restraint so no shooting took place.

A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the tractor's tires could have been punctured under normal circumstances, but the tractor drivers were speeding, realizing that this could happen. One lakh protesters and more than a hundred tractors were running. Seeing this, the police on duty were also devastated. They were not allowed to take more drastic action.