Online lecture by Kisan Sabha leader Vijoo Krishnan disrupted

Krishnan told DH that 'cyber goons belonging to Sangh Parivar' were behind the disruption

Right-wing supporters have disrupted an online talk by Kisan Sabha leader Vijoo Krishnan on ongoing farmers protests and the contentious farm laws with the programme organiser Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle in IIT-Madras saying that it showed that they were "shaken" by the agitation.

Krishnan, one of the organisers of the farmers' agitation that is rocking the national capital, was invited to speak on 'Agrarian Crisis and Rising Resistance: Farm Bills 2020 and Their Impacts' at 7:30 pm on Wednesday.

As Krishnan was invited to speak and minutes into his lecture, a group of 4-6 people who were attending the online lecture unmuted themselves and started shouting, making others unable to comprehend what the speaker was saying.

As the disruptors kept on interfering with Krishnan, the organisers stopped the webinar and shifted to an alternative meeting with a restricted audience and streamed it live on Facebook.

Krishnan told DH, "the talk was disrupted by cyber goons belonging to the Sangh Parivar, who cannot tolerate voices of dissent. They cannot engage in a discussion democratically."

He said, "they created ruckus and shared pornographic content. That is the level to which they stoop. They are mistaken if they feel such acts and threats can cow down protests."

Asked who was behind the disruption, a member of the study circle said it was obvious who was behind it.

In a statement, the study circle said a "group of Sanghi fringes" created a ruckus in the online lecture event.

"The act by the hooligans shows how shaken they are by the farmer protests, and how desperately they want to contain even a discussion on this topic," the Study Circle said.

It said the specific web conference software used for the event "lacked certain host privileges" and it was "extremely difficult" for them to tackle it.

"However, we managed to work out an alternative meeting with a restricted audience and streamed it live on our Facebook page," it said adding that it will invest more thought in sorting out logistics to ensure the viewers an environment robust to these undemocratic fringes.