The Shiromani Akali Dal on Tuesday described the order of the Supreme Court on the farmers issue as “resounding moral defeat of the BJP Government at the center”.

The party however expressed “grave concern and anxiety” over reports that the government was “deliberately trying to infiltrate the peaceful and democratic struggle of the farmers by pushing in some mercenaries into their ranks to act as  agents provocateurs in order to incite violence and defame the most honourable and civilized struggle.”

“The Shiromani Akali Dal considers peace and communal harmony in Punjab and the rest of the country as the most sacred ideals for which the party has always made supreme sacrifices. We will continue to preserve this heritage handed down to us by the great Guru Sahiban .

We will continue to fight to defeat  any attempts by anyone to set fire to peace here,” said a Resolution passed at a specially convened meeting of the Core Committee of the party Tuesday evening. SAD president Sukhbir SIngh Badal presided over the meeting.  Others present included  Balwidner Singh Bhunder, Bibi Jgir Kaur,  Jathedar Tota Singh, Prem Singh Chandumajra,  Bikram Singh Majithia,

MIS Grewal, Janmeja SIngh Sekhon,  Sikandar Singh Maluka, Daljeet Singh Cheema, Sharanjit SIngh Dhillon, amongst others. Giving details of the proceedings of the meeting,  Harcharan Bains, Principal Advisor to  SAD president, said  the Core Committee passed a resolution saying  that “the  Apex court order fully vindicates the stand and steps taken  by the Shiromani Akai Dal prior to the passage of the anti –farmer Bills.

 The Core Committee further said that the SAD will continue to support and participate in any   “peaceful, civilized and democratic line of protest which the  farmers organization decide to  pursue to get the anti farmer Acts revoked. “There is no change in the unswerving support to all peaceful and democratic means of protest to force the government to revoke the Acts against which the party had quit the government and taken all other steps to strengthen the farmers’ cause.,” said Bains.

The party decided to caution the people of Punjab against “ conspiracies by the ruling party at the center as well as in the state to sabotage the hard earned atmosphere of peace and communal harmony in Punjab and the rest of the country.”

The Core Committee Resolution said that  “the  farmers  alone have the right to decide on the future course of peaceful and civilized protest,  but the SAD, as the oldest and the largest political party of the farmers will continue to work actively to swell the ranks of the agitating  farmers in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana.”

The Shiromani Akali Dal also described as “most unfortunate and unacceptable” the composition of the committee by the SC, saying that the composition and character of the Committee had fully exposed the  anti-farmer nexus between the Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh and the anti-farmer government at the center.

Bains said that the SAD Core Committee came down heavily against the “insane and irresponsible utterances of the Government of India through its counsel in the Supreme Court in which the Government had alleged the hand of Khalistani  and other anti-peace and anti-national elements in the farmers’ protest. “The government’s claim is belied by responsible statements by one of the BJP’s most senior leaders and minister, Mr Raj Nath Singh , who had categorically stated last week that it was wrong to paint the peacefully agitating  farmers “as Khalistanis or ideological extremists.”