AMRITSAR SAHIB, Punjab—”It’s time that the Indian Prime Minister give up his ego and repeal the three anti-farm laws”. These were the words by the recently appointed SGPC President Bibi Jagir “Kaur Bibi Jagir was speaking.” on the occasion of the centenary celebrations of the Darbar Sahib Tarn Taran massacre when she made this appeal to Narendra Modi.
She also expressed concern over the use of force by the Delhi Police over peacefully protesting farmers. “It was unfortunate that police hurled tear gas shells at farmers in Delhi yesterday. This is happening because of the stubbornness of the Prime Minister of the country,” she said.
“Such a situation would not have arisen if the government had considered the legitimate demands of the farmers. It’s time that the government of India should listen to the farmers and rectify its mistakes by repealing the laws,” she added.
On January 26, over 500,000 tractors marched into Delhi in a parallel republic day parade. Farmers were keen to march into Delhi to show the strength of their unity, but the police had barricaded the major streets. As farmers approached these locations, they were lathi-charged and attacked with tear gas.
The SGPC President had earlier announced that the SGPC would note invite Narendra Modi to mark important centenaries in the coming months, including the 400th birth anniversary of the ninth Guru Sri Guru Teg Bahadar. She had said that while SGPC invited dignitaries to these events through special invites, PM Modi will not receive a special invite this time.
“The SGPC openly invites all to attend these events but will not send any special invitation to the PM because of his stand taken against us and damaging the interests of farmers,” Bibi Jagir had said to media persons in January 2021.
SGPC, being run by the Akali Dal, had paid notable respects to the BJP leadership, inviting them to keep celebrations. Akali Dal recently severed its ties with the BJP after farmer protests took off and intensified.
