The Centre has moved the Supreme Court, seeking a stay against a proposed tractor rally by protesting farmers in the national capital on January 26 Republic Day.
Earlier, the farmers bodies had said they would hold a tractor parade on January 26, moving inside Delhi if their demands were not met by then. The farmers' bodies said the government should act before the Republic Day, or else they will be forced to move from the Delhi borders after the official parade at Rajpath was over.
The tractor parade will be on KMP expressway, the alternative route open to Delhi from Sonepat; subsequently the Shahjahanpur blockade will also move towards Delhi. The farmers announced a series of events which will be held in the coming days at their first press conference held in Press Club in Delhi. The earlier press conferences were held at the Singhu Border.
In an application filed through the Delhi Police, the Centre has said: "It is submitted that the proposed march is slated to disturb and disrupt the august celebrations of nation on Republic Day and would be bound to create a massive law and order situation," the application said.
"It is submitted that the said proposed march/protest seeks to disrupt and disturb such celebrations which is bound to create a serious law and order situation and will cause an embarrassment to the nation," it said. It said that right to protest is always subject to the "countervailing public order and the public interest" and the right to protest can never include "maligning the nation globally".
"It is submitted that the Republic day function on January 26 each year has its own constitutional as well as historical significance. The January 26 Republic Day ceremony is not an isolated standalone ceremony rather a grand rehearsal takes place on January 23 where everything which is to happen on January 26 of each year is rehearsed," the application said.
"Any disruption or obstruction in the said functions would not only be against the law and order, public order, public interest but would also be a huge embarrassment for the nation," it said while referring to the Republic Day ceremony.
Earlier, the top court pulled up the Centre for its handling of the farmers protest against the new farm laws saying it was "extremely disappointed" with the way negotiations between them were going and it would constitute a committee headed by a former chief justice of India to resolve the impasse.
