The farmers’ protests in Delhi against new farm laws sneaked in through Parliament, with former ‘Prabhat Khabar‘ editor Harivansh playing a questionable part as Rajya Sabha deputy chair, had been mostly peaceful and exemplary for 66 days.
But the “tractor parade” by the farmers on Republic Day, with protesters breaching pre-agreed conditions and “storming” Red Fort, has come in handy to push the establishment narrative that the protest has been hijacked.
Newspaper front pages reflect that sentiment, with very few of them barring The Indian Express and The Telegraph asking the obvious questions: Who instigated the protesters to take a detour from the designated route and well before the scheduled time? And why?
IJR 