On farmers' tractor rally violence, Arvind Kejriwal says ‘incident doesn’t end protest'

"We cannot be a happy nation with unhappy farmers," Arvind Kejriwal said.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said that those guilty of causing violence in the national capital during farmers’ Republic Day tractor parade must be punished and said that the incident was unfortunate. However, he said that incident does not put an end to the protest against the agricultural laws enacted by the Centre in September last year and urged for support to the farmers in a peaceful manner.

Delhi chief minister condemned the violence in the Capital during farmers' tractor rally. (PTI File Photo )

"What happened on January 26 was unfortunate. Those who are actually guilty should be punished. But that incident does not put an end to the protest. The concerns still exist and we should all support farmers in this in peaceful way. We cannot be a happy nation with unhappy farmers," Kejriwal said at the Aam Aadmi party’s national council meeting in Delhi.

Follow latest updates on farm stir here

The chief minister’s remarks come as massive clashes between the protesters and police broke out on Tuesday as the former breached the agreement to follow pre-decided routes for the rally and entered central Delhi despite the cops warning them against it.

The farmers also kicked off their rally almost an hour before the scheduled time of 12noon and broke police barricades on being stopped. The farmers also stormed the Red Fort and unfurled a religious flag 'Nishan Sahib' on the monument causing a major stir. A video of them chasing the cops in the ITO area of the Capital also went viral.

The police fired multiple rounds of tear gas at the protesting farmers. A protester died and several policemen were injured during the clashes. Many farmers leaders and unions disassociated themselves from the tractor rally after it took a violent turn. The protesting farmers’ unruly behaviour during the rally has drawn flak following which one faction of the Bharatiya Kisan Union has withdrawn from the two-month long agitation.

Following the chaos on January 26, the farmers have called off their march to Parliament on February 1, however, they’ve said that their protest against the legislation cleared by the Centre during monsoon session of Parliament will continue.