Amid a massive outrage over protesters hoisting a religious flag at the Red Fort during the tractor rally on Republic Day, actor Deep Sidhu, who was present during the incident, sought to defend their action, saying they did not remove the national flag and had put up the 'Nishan Sahib' as a symbolic protest. The 'Nishan Sahib' flag, a symbol of Sikh religion, is seen at all Gurdwara complexes. In a video posted on Facebook on Tuesday evening, Sidhu claimed it was not a planned move and that they should not be given any communal colour or dubbed as fundamentalists or hardliners.'

"To symbolically register our protest against the new farm legislation, we put up 'Nishan Sahib' and a farmer flag and also raised the slogan of Kisan Mazdoor Ekta," said Sidhu. The flag represents the country's "unity in diversity", he said while pointing towards 'Nishan Sahib', the triangular saffron flag with the emblem of 'Khanda', a two-edged sword, Chakra, a disc, and two Kirpans that cross each other at the handles. He stated that the national flag was not removed from the flagpole at the Red Fort and that nobody raised a question over the country's unity and integrity. Leaders across the political spectrum condemned the violence and the Red Fort incident, with the Congress' Shashi Tharoor saying he supported the farmers' protests from the start but cannot condone "lawlessness".