A day after protesting farmers clashed with Delhi police, BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy struck a cautionary note, warning members of his own party to "wake up". As he put it in a series of tweets on Wednesday morning, the respect for Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah's "tough guys image" had been lost.
"Respect of two groups of stakeholders in agricultural trade have been lost so far in the farmers agitation: A.The Punjab Congress/Akali politicians & their middlemen. B. The Modi/ Shah "tough guys" image. Gainers are Naxals, Drug lords, ISI & Khalistanis. BJP please wake up! (sic)" Swamy tweeted on Wednesday morning.
In a follow-up post he continued his criticism of the "law and order fiasco" that had taken place, pointing out that he had repeatedly urged the Centre to halt the public Republic Day celebrations.
Following this, he said, China had been emboldened to "carry out a major attack this March-May period to further de-stabillize India".
"Hindus under siege. Wake up!!" he added.
Republic Day 2021 had made headlines across the world, not for the annual celebration of India's constitution, but for the violent clashes that followed. For two months now, thousands of farmers have remained at Delhi's borders demanding the repeal of three contentious farm laws. And on Tuesday, the protests turned violent as the farmers took out a tractor rally across the national capital.
Many of the protesters indulged in violence and vandalism, with some even planting flags on the lower ramparts of the Red Fort. "More than 300 Police personnel have been injured after being attacked by agitating farmers on January 26," the Delhi Police said on Wednesday. Now, even as many of the farm leaders condemn the violence and protesters return to Delhi's borders, the situation is far from normal.
