Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Gurudwara Rakabganj in Delhi this morning.
New Delhi:
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his unscheduled visit to a gurdwara in Delhi on Sunday, where he respectfully knelt and offered his prayers, a sermon offered this advice: “You can be a religious person, attend Satsangs (prayer meetings) do Seva (service), but there must be changes in your thinking that really help improve society. “
The prime minister visited the iconic Gurudwara Rakabganj in Delhi at a time when his government is facing great anger among farmers, many of them from Punjab, who have been protesting against new laws on how and where their produce can be sold. The sermon was being recited in the background by the granthi or ceremonial reader in Punjabi.
The Prime Minister’s visit, which was organized without special traffic or other arrangements for him, lasted about 15 minutes.
Farmers have blocked several key entry points into Delhi for nearly a month, arguing that the new reforms, which the prime minister has assured will benefit them, will in fact serve the big corporations that will end up dominating markets after they are deregulated. They want the laws to be repealed and a new legal commitment to be made with the minimum support price they get for growing crops like wheat and rice.
Talks between the government and representatives of the farmers’ unions have failed despite several lengthy rounds. Last week, the Supreme Court suggested that a committee of representatives of farmers and ministers be established to review the new reforms. The court also said the protests can continue for now and asked the government to consider not implementing the new laws until the matter is resolved.
During the unrest, protesters say that at least 29 of them have died, many of them from being outdoors during a severe cold snap. Last week, a Sikh priest in Haryana committed suicide, local police said; a note left by him said that he could not stand by and “tolerate the injustice” that was being inflicted on farmers.
“I felt extremely blessed,” Prime Minister Modi tweeted after the visit this morning. On Friday, he reached out to farmers in a televised speech from Madhva Pradesh in which he said the opposition is misleading them into not understanding how important and beneficial the reforms will be.
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