Deep Sidhu justifies himself over Red Fort violence

Deep Sidhu justified the act of planting "Nishan Sahib" flag by calling it a symbol of protest in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

After the Red Fort breach, actor Deep Sidhu, once known for his close proximity to the actor-turned MP Sunny Deol faced backlash on social media for his presence at the site of violence. Protesters have blamed Mr Sidhu of instigating the farmers and planting the religious Sikh flag "Nishan Sahib" at the Red Fort. The act has been criticized by many including those who have supported the farmers' cause so far.

Mr Sidhu said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that the act was spontaneous and justified the act by saying that the protesters did not remove the national flag, instead put up the "Nishan Sahib" as a symbol of protest. "To symbolically register our protest against the new farm legislation, we put up 'Nishan Sahib' and a farmer flag and also raised the slogan of Kisan Mazdoor Ekta," said Mr Sidhu. He added that the flag denoted the country's "unity in diversity." Mr Sidhu defended the act by saying that the anger of people was "genuine" and the outburst was a result of the violation of their rights.

Mr Sidhu said that one person could not mobilise such a large group of people. "We held a peaceful protest without destroying anything or causing any damage to the public property...we exercised our democratic right peacefully. If we think one person or a personality could do such a big mobilisation of people, then it will be wrong," he said. However, farmer leaders have shown their disapproval of the action that turned peaceful protest into violent clash and blamed the ruling party.

Rajesh Tikait leader of the Bharat Kisan Union said, "Deep Sidhu is not a Sikh, he is a worker of the BJP. This is a movement of farmers and will remain so. Some people will have to leave this place immediately - those who broke barricading will never be a part of the movement." Meanwhile Sunny Deol has distanced himself from Mr Sidhu and said in a statement, "Today what happened at Red Fort has saddened me. I had earlier too, on December 6, made it clear that neither I nor my family have anything to do with Deep Sidhu." Mr Deol had contested from Gurdaspur in Punjab in 2019 and Mr Sidhu came into focus as the aide of Mr Deol.