Kamal Nath's 'Aag Laga Do' video shared by BJP; Ex-CM wants to instigate on farmers' stir?

A video of former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath seemingly urging Congress workers to 'set fire' ('Aag Laga Do') in order for the farmers to 'get justice' was released by the state's BJP unit on Friday. In a 20-second-long video shared by BJP leader VD Sharma, Kamal Nath can be seen addressing a virtual meeting and is heard telling the Congress workers that it was the right opportunity to 'set fire' ('aag laga do') & that the farmers would get justice. In the video put out by BJP, the former Madhya Pradesh CM is heard telling Congress workers that farmers getting justice was the first task and that 'setting fire' would be the second task, adding that it was the perfect time to do so. 

Kamal Nath's video urging Congress workers to instigate farmers comes at a time when the Congress party has admitted the existence of a 'toolkit' atleast pertaining to the Central Vista Project, but claims that there are parts of it that are fake and forged and has even filed a FIR against prominent BJP leaders and has asked Twitter to suspend their handles. This comes after BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra had released multiple alleged internal research documents of the Congress where the party plans various strategies and tactics to defame the Centre and PM Modi over the COVID-19 situation. Twitter, had on Thursday flagged Sambit Patra's tweet on the toolkit as manipulated media, though with the purported video of Kamal Nath following suit, the controversy over attempting to leverage crisis situations for political benefit has only grown.

The term 'toolkit' was made infamous on account of Environmentalist Greta Thunberg sharing such a document wherein plans had been made to defame India over the farmers' protest and to hold large-scale online and on-ground protests on the topic. 

Watch: Kamal Nath's 'aag laga do' video sparks controversy

In the video, Kamal Nath is seen addressing workers by video-conferencing and is seemingly heard saying the following:

'Tum log ko aag lagani hai. (You people have to set fire)

Maine kaha tha yeh aag lagane ka mauka hai. (I had said this is an opportunity to set fire)

Kisaano ke saath nyay ho... dusra kaam hai aag lagao.' (Let there be justice for farmers... The second task is to set fire)

Farmers' protests now at 6 months

The farmers' protest has been ongoing now for 6 months, but had become highly political in the lead-up to the recent state assembly elections. While groups of farmers held peaceful 'Chakka Jam' stirs across India, apart from except in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand where matters have often turned heated, Rakesh Tikait and other BKU leaders toured poll-bound Assam, Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry seeking farmers' support against the Centre's Farm Laws, urging them to not vote for BJP.

Moreover, after the violence witnessed on Republic Day, Delhi police fortified the city borders by cementing nails near barricades, deploying additional troops, adding barbed wires etc at Ghazipur (Delhi-Uttar Pradesh) and Tikri (Delhi-Haryana) borders, blocking access to the roads completely. MHA had snapped off Internet across all three border areas - Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur and later extended the ban to 1-2 days more. Farmers have reiterated 'No Ghar Wapsi till Law Wapsi', with the protests having also earlier caught several international celebrities' interest online. The Supreme Court also entered the fray, its panel submitting its report to the Apex Court after holding several rounds of talks with many farmer unions, trade unions, manufacturers, food processing units etc. The farmers, however, insist that only the rollback of the three farm reforms will end the protest.

Meanwhile, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha has announced that it would observe May 26 as a 'black day' marking six months of the farmers' protests at Delhi borders against the Centre's farm laws. The umbrella body, comprising over 40 farm unions, has been leading the protests against the three farm laws along with other farmer outfits including the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) and has consistently called for the three agrarian laws to be repealed. Addressing a virtual press conference on Saturday, Samyukta Kisan Morcha's Balbir Singh Rajewal urged the people to hoist black flags atop their houses, shops and vehicles as a sign of protest against the three farm laws as the farmers' protests completed six months. The farmer leader claimed that May 26 would be observed as a 'black day' and highlighted that it would also be 7 years since PM Modi took charge at the helm of affairs. This comes even amid the second wave of Coronavirus, which has claimed the life of at least one protesting farmer as recently as Wednesday.