Farmers Movement Archive

‘In reopening, BJP building confidence among Sikhs’

Jalandhar: The reopening of Kartarpur corridor appears to be a confidence-building measure by the central government to reach out to Sikhs, as the community has been sore over the corridor’s closure and the ongoing farm movement has added to the bitterness. For some time, BJP has been projecting the Prime Minister’s relationship with Sikhs and the steps he had taken for the government, but these were not cutting much ice with Sikhs as the corridor was closed even as everything else had already been opened and big political gatherings had already been taking place. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah want that relations between their government and the Sikhs as a community should remain good, and the irritants causing bitterness should be removed. In our meetings, especially with Shah, we have been getting the impression that he and PM were very clear that in what directions their relations with Sikhs should go,” said a senior BJP leader from Punjab. Another BJP leader said a major part of the community was still unhappy with the BJP because of the farm laws and the step to reopen the corridor might not result in any electoral dividends for it in Punjab. “But this would help reduce the bitterness, even if they (Sikhs) do not warm up to the party in these elections,” said the leader. The BJP leader added that though farmers from all communities and from Haryana and western UP had also been participating in the farm movement, Sikh community had contributed heavily to the movement. “The agitation close to completing a year and Lakhimpur Kheri incident in which four Sikh farmers, along with a local journalist, were mowed down by a convoy belonging to the son of a Union minister of BJP had increased the bitterness. Opening corridor was a genuine demand and it can also be a first step towards removing at least one irritant,” the BJP leader said.

The Times of India

2021-11-17

Chandigarh