synopsis
In a 23-second video shared on X, Sidhana urges farmers, "This is Colgate. I appeal to all the farmers to apply white Colgate to reduce the effects of tear gas on your face. It will help to reduce the itching and heat from your face."
On Thursday, ex-gangster turned radical Lakha Sidhana recommended protesting farmers to apply Colgate toothpaste on their faces to mitigate the impact of tear gas shells deployed by the police.
In a 23-second video shared on X, Sidhana urges farmers, "This is Colgate. I appeal to all the farmers to apply white Colgate to reduce the effects of tear gas on your face. It will help to reduce the itching and heat from your face." The circulating video reportedly originates from Khanuri border situated in Haryana's Jind district.
Meanwhile, reports indicate that the presence of Sidhana among protesting farmers has prompted authorities, particularly the Delhi police, to heighten their vigilance. Intelligence suggests that Sidhana has allegedly been encouraging farmers to breach barricades and advance further.
Reports state that a viral Facebook video features Sidhana attempting to mobilize farmers and incite them to employ violent means to overcome barriers. In the video, Sidhana asserts that the struggle extends beyond farmers' demands, encompassing the very existence of farmers themselves.
In the video, he said, “In a manner in which new laws are implemented in the country, it seems that the Centre wants to snatch farmers’s lands, water and everything that belongs to them.”
“Your history will be destroyed. So, now it is a question of our existence,” Sidhana added further.
In the same video, Sidhana urged his supporters to supply JCB and other heavy-duty machinery to protesting farmers to aid them in confronting the police. “We have to break the barricades and reach Delhi. It is the question of our dignity and existence. It is the question of our future generations,” he said.
During the farmers' protest in 2020-21, Sidhana faced accusations of integrating anti-social elements with protestors, resulting in violence. Authorities suspect that this time, Sidhana aims to fill the void left by the deceased Deep Sidhu.
Sidhana, one of the accused in the January 26 violence in Delhi, is presently out on bail. Despite contesting the Punjab Assembly Elections in 2022, he lost to Aam Aadmi Party's candidate Sukhveer Singh Maiserkhana. According to an affidavit filed by Sidhana during the Assembly polls, he had 14 pending cases against him, with convictions in two cases.