Pro-Left Wing extremist elements along with ultra-Left leaders have hijacked the ongoing farmers' protests, as per sources.

Ultra-Left leaders and pro-Left Wing extremist elements have hijacked the farmers' agitation, sources of intelligence agencies told Zee News on Friday. Thousands of farmers protesting against the centre's new Agriculture laws have been camping at multiple border points for two weeks.

The sources added that there are credible intelligence inputs to indicate that these elements are planning to instigate the farmers to indulge in violence, arson and damage to public property. They plane to do so in the coming days.

In a new twist to the ongoing protest by thousands of farmers against the Centre’s farm laws, posters demanding the release of writers, intellectuals, rationalists mainly arrested in connection with the Elgar Parishad and Delhi Riots case have come up.

According to reports, these posters were put up on Thursday – the 15th day of the farmers' agitation in the national capital.

Farmers' body - Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) – was holding a demonstration at the Tikri border against the Centre during which some posters calling for the immediate release of social activists and JNU students - Gautam Navlakha, Sudha Bhardwaj, Varvara Rao, Anand Teltumbde, and Delhi riots-accused Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Khalid Saifi were put up by unknown persons.

The posters asked for 'justice' to be delivered. However, it is not clear whether these banners and posters were associated with the farmers or not. 

Ugrahan--demanding the release of writers, intellectuals, rationalists mainly arrested in Elgar Parishad and Delhi Riots case. All have been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in different cases.

While the biggest protest site at present is the Singhu border, thousands of farmers have been protesting at the Tikri border for two weeks now. Since the start of their protest, the farmers have maintained that issues not related to the farmers’ welfare will not be raised from the protest venue.

Leaders of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), however, maintained that protesting in support of those who are incarcerated was not political.

“This was done to celebrate Human Rights Day. These are prisoners who fought for the underclasses and their rights. We are also fighting for your rights, which the government is trying to take away from us. It is not a political move at all,” he said.

On December 10 (Thursday), they threatened to intensify their agitation with a plan to block railway tracks if their demands are not met soon. The announcement came on a day Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said it was not proper to announce the next stage of agitation when talks were continuing and urged the unions to return to the discussion table.

The three farm laws enacted in September have been projected by the government as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country. However, the protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of Minimum Support Price.

They opine that these would do away with the mandis, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates. The Centre has repeatedly asserted that these mechanisms will remain.