Violence cannot solve any problem : Sougata Roy on farmers' tractor parade

Reacting to the unprecedentedseige by farmers at the Red Fort and clashes with the policein Delhi on Republic Day, senior TMC leader Sougata Roy onTuesday said violence cannot solve any problem and demandedthat Prime Minister Narendra Modi inform the nation about theCentre's stand on repeal of the three farm laws.

He also expressed surprise on Modi's silence over thefarmers' stir.

Referring to the entry of a section of agitatingfarmers into the compound of the Red Fort, a monument ofnational importance, Roy told reporters here that it meant thepolice had failed to stop them.

The farmers' scheduled tractor parade on pre-decidedroutes eclipsed the annual show of military might at Rajpathas tens and thousands of them atop the mechanised diggersbroke barriers, clashed with the police and entered the cityfrom various points to lay siege to the Red Fort and climb theflagpole, the centerpiece of the country's Independence Dayprogramme on Tuesday.

While the police removed protesting farmers from theRed Fort, the force baton charged them at Chintamani Chowk inShahdara when they broke barricades and smashed window panesof cars.

A group of 'Nihangs' (traditional Sikh warriors)clashed with security personnel near Akshardham Temple in thenational capital. At Nangloi Chowk in west Delhi and atMukarba Chowk, farmers broke cemented barricades and policeused tear gas to disperse them.

''It should be looked into why Delhi police couldn'tprevent the situation and teargassing and baton charging hadto be resorted to. Why could not the police prevent a sectionof the farmers from entering the Red Fort compound? ''But we must say violence cannot solve any problem, anyissue,'' he said.

Expressing surprise over the prime ministermaintaining silence over the farmers' stir for ''such a longtime'', the TMC MP said ''Why is he (Modi) not letting thecountry know about Centre's stand on the farmers' demand forwithdrawal of the three farm laws''.

''We want that farmers continue their stir in apeaceful, non-violent manner till their demands are met,'' Roysaid.

The party has stood by the agitating farmers since themovement began and sent a delegation of its MPs to theagitation site near the borders of the natioal capital.

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana andwestern Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at several Delhiborder points since November 28, demanding a complete repealof three farm laws and a legal guarantee on minimum supportprice for their crops.