Toronto / London Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the New Democratic Party of the Canadian Federal Opposition (NDP) has delved into the controversy surrounding the ongoing farmers’ protests in India.
In a tweet, Singh described “violence perpetrated” by the government against farmers “peacefully protesting” as “egregious”. After expressing his “solidarity” with the farmers, he called on the Indian government to “enter into a peaceful dialogue” with them.
His brother Gurratan Singh, an MLA in the Ontario assembly also joined in and tweeted that he felt the “pain and struggle of farmers protesting laws that threaten their livelihoods.”
Pro-Khalistan separatist groups in Canada have also joined the chorus of opposition to the farm laws against which the protests are taking place. Sukhminder Singh Hansra, senior member of the Canadian branch of Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), wrote to Canada’s Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne, requesting an intervention to protect the “fundamental rights” of protesting farmers, adding that the Canadian Sikh community was “monitoring the situation very closely.” Hansra, one of the leading advocates for Khalistan in Canada, framed the issue in terms of self-determination.
Sikhs for Justice separatists have announced plans to open call centers in the US, Canada, UK, France and Germany to receive online applications to “reimburse” farmers for their losses, while trying to take advantage of that promise. to register them in the Khalistan Referendum. The SFJ has been forced to postpone the so-called 2020 Referendum to next year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, farmers’ protests also resonated in the UK. Indian-born Labor MPs criticized the alleged police measures against farmers, while many Sikhs recently held a car rally in Southall in support of farmers.
Preet Kaur Gill, Birmingham Edgbaston Labor MP and Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Party for British Sikhs, reacted to the images of the Delhi protests: “This is no way to deal with citizens who are peacefully protesting the controversial Farmers Bill in India “.
Shocking scenes from Delhi. Farmers peacefully protest controversial bills that will affect their livelihoods. Water cannons and tear gas are being used to silence them, ”he added.
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, a Labor MP from Slough, posted images of the protests on social media, saying: “It takes a special kind of people to feed those ordered to beat and repress them. I stand with the farmers of #Punjab and other parts of #India, including our family and friends, who are peacefully protesting the invasive privatization of # FarnersBill2020 ”.
The protest also finds waves in the UK
Farmers’ protests also resonated in the UK. Indian-origin Labor MPs criticized the alleged police measures against farmers, while many Sikhs held a car rally in Southall in support of farmers.
Preet Kaur Gill, Birmingham Edgbaston Labor MP and Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Party for British Sikhs, reacted to the images of the Delhi protests: “This is not a way to treat citizens peacefully protesting the controversial Farmers Bill in India “.
Shocking scenes from Delhi. Farmers peacefully protest controversial bills that will affect their livelihoods. Water cannons and tear gas are used to silence them, ”he added.
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, a Labor MP from Slough, posted images of the protests on social media, saying: “It takes a special kind of people to feed those ordered to beat and repress them. I stand with the farmers of #Punjab and other parts of #India, including our family and friends, who are peacefully protesting the invasive privatization of # FarnersBill2020 ”.
(With input from Prasun Sonwalkar in London)
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