New Delhi: Punjabi star Diljit Dosanjh joined farmers’ protests on Delhi’s Singhu border on Saturday, calling on protesters to be patient and peaceful in their agitation and calling on the government to accept their demands. “You have created history once again,” he told the protesters.
Days after taking part in a bitter Twitter fight with actor Kangana Ranaut over the agitation of farmers, Dosanjh went to the protest site and initially sat in the crowd and listened to speeches by other leaders. The 36-year-old actor took the stage and began his speech in Punjabi.
“I am not here to talk, just to listen. I congratulate all of you. You have created history once again. I used to hear stories that Punjabis are full of energy, but I am witnessing it for the first time, ”Dosanjh said. To agitated farmers, his message was: be patient and peaceful in your protests.
“This is the only way we can win this fight. The stories of these days will definitely be told in the future, ”he said, while thanking the people who joined the protest from Haryana. The “Udta Punjab” actor then turned to Hindi for the convenience of the media present on the site.
“Hindi mein bhi bol raha hun Sir, phir baad mein Google na karna patro (Hindi is also spoken, so no need to do a Google search). Referring to his ugly war of words with Ranaut, Dosanjh said that unlike the narrative spreading on Twitter, the agitation by farmers has been “peaceful.”
“If you are listening to us, there is no other problem than that of the farmers that is being talked about here. Do not divert problems. The government must accept the demands of the farmers. “Everyone is sitting here in peace, no one is talking about ‘khoon-kharaba.’ Many things happen on Twitter, everything goes wrong, “he said.
Dosanjh and Ranaut were involved in a bitter fight on social media Thursday over their comments against an elderly participant in the farmers’ protest. The fight began after Ranaut mistakenly identified the farmer as Bilkis Bano, a septuagenarian who had drawn international attention for her involvement in protests against the CAA earlier this year in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh neighborhood. In response, Dosanjh had shared an interview with the BBC that identified the farmer as Mahinder Kaur. In the scathing exchange that followed, Ranaut called Dosanjh filmmaker Karan Johar’s “mascot” a “boot-licker” and asked him if he wasn’t ashamed to defend someone who “instigated” the Delhi riots earlier this year. Dosanjh, a popular name in Punjabi movies who rose to national fame with the 2016 drug drama “Udta Punjab,” in turn accused Ranaut of lying and instigating people by playing on people’s emotions.
In his speech, the actor said he was touched by the overwhelming support farmers across the country have received. “We ask the national media, with folded hands, to show how we are all sitting in peace. The entire country is with us today, listen to us and hope that the government will accept our demands ”, he added.
Undeterred by the winter cold, thousands of farmers have stayed at various border points in Delhi since November 26 as part of their protest against the Center’s farm laws.
