NEW DELHI: Punjabi actor-singer Deep Sidhu was blamed by farmer unions for inciting the youths to march to Red Fort and hoist the `Nishan Sahib', the Sikh religious flag. there.
"Deep Sidhu instigated the youth to take over the agitation and give it a different colour. He damaged our agitation and we don't know who they are working for," Joginder Singh Ugrahan of BK1J (Ugrahan) said. In videos doing the rounds on social media on Tuesday, Sidhu was seen holding the Khalsa flag and shouting slogans in support of Mazdoor Ekta' and Khalsa at Red Fort.
As the Red Fort violence came in for widespread condemnation, farmer unions were quick to disassociate themselves from Sidhu. It was also alleged that he supported the Khalistani movement. The 36-year-old artist frequently quotes Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
Later, a photo of Sidhu along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP's Gurdaspur MP and actor Sunny Deol started circulating on social media platforms. He is said to have campaigned for Deol in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Sidhu was part of the actor's campaign team, but Deol had distanced himself from Sidhu in December after he joined the farmers' agitation.
In a video posted on Facebook, Sidhu justified the move and said, "We have only hoisted the Mahan Sahib flag on the Red Fort while exercising our democratic right to protest. In this kind of protest, people's anger flares up and you cannot blame one person for inciting the protesters." He clarified that the national flag was not removed from the flag pole at Red Fort.