No place for anarchy in democracy, says RSS

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) National General Secretary Suresh Bhayyaji Joshi on Tuesday said that the violence that took place in Delhi followed by the incident at Red Fort on the occasion of Republic Day are condemnable and there is no place for such anarchy in a democracy.

"The violence that took place in Delhi on Republic Day is sad and condemnable," Joshi said in a statement issued to the press.

"Especially what happened in Red Fort is an insult to the freedom fighters and those who laid down their lives for the integrity of the nation. There is no place for such anarchy in a democracy," he added.

Joshi further appealed through RSS that the people of the country should rise above their political and ideological differences to strive for peace.

A total of 83 police personnel were injured on Tuesday after intense clashes with farmers, who broke police barricades and stormed into the city on Republic Day to hold a tractor rally in protest against the new farm laws.

Delhi Police had released the names of the cops who had sustained injuries in the evening. Several incidents of violence took place during the tractor rally. Protesters and police clashed near Delhi Police headquarters and inside the Red Fort--from where the Prime Minister addresses the nation on Independence Day.

In a video of the incident, a group of protestors, some of them armed with sticks, were seen hitting the police personnel, forcing them to jump down from the walls of the monument.

Meanwhile, a protesting farmer died after a tractor rammed into barricades and overturned at ITO, Delhi Police had earlier said.

Earlier today, reports of farmers breaking barricades to enter Delhi and resorting to vandalism poured from several parts of the city. The entry and exit gates of several Metro stations were also closed.

Protesting farmers had reached ITO after breaking police barricades placed opposite old Delhi Police headquarters and were seen attacking police personnel and vandalising vehicles.

A protestor also went up the mast on the ramparts of the Red Fort and raised a flag he was carrying at the place where the Tricolour is hoisted.

Several people, including police personnel, suffered injuries during the clash between protesting farmers and police. Farmers held a 'tractor rally' on Republic Day to demand the repeal of new farm laws.

( With inputs from ANI )