Jagjit Singh Dallewal, national convenor of SKM (Non-Political) and president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Ekta Sidhupur, on Friday criticised the BJP-led Modi government. Dallewal accused the Centre of undermining democratic values by using police force to disrupt peaceful, Gandhian protests and of subverting justice to protect political leaders.

“Under the current regime, holding a peaceful protest to demand a secure future for the country’s youth is being treated as a crime,” the SKM leader said. He strongly condemned the eviction and alleged manhandling of renowned social activist Sonam Wangchuk at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. Wangchuk had been on an indefinite hunger strike for 20 days, demanding accountability and the resignation of the Union Education Minister in the wake of massive paper leak scandals. The leaks, he said, ruined the futures of millions of students and led to multiple student suicides across the country.

“The Prime Minister travels the world boasting that India is the mother of democracy. Yet, by using police brutality to physically lift Sonam Wangchuk from a completely peaceful, Gandhian protest site, this government has torn democratic values to shreds. Even during the British colonial era, such high-handedness against peaceful fasts was rare. The Constitution guarantees every citizen the fundamental right to protest against state injustice,” Dallewal alleged.

Dallewal added that Wangchuk’s demands were entirely selfless and aimed at ending the recurring paper leak menace, rather than seeking personal gain or imposing economic burdens on the country. He said SKM (Non-Political) leaders were scheduled to visit Jantar Mantar to extend formal support, and it was the fear of this growing nationwide solidarity that prompted the government to panic and clear the protest site ahead of a planned march to Parliament.

Drawing parallels, Dallewal referred to the ongoing judicial proceedings in the Lakhimpur Kheri case, where protesting farmers were allegedly mowed down by a vehicle belonging to the son of a BJP MP. He expressed outrage over reports that the Uttar Pradesh Police approached the court to state that no eyewitnesses were being threatened, even before key testimonies were completed. “The entire nation witnessed the horrific video evidence of farmers being crushed under wheels. For the UP Police to step in and effectively give a ‘clean chit’ to the accused before the court could even finish recording eyewitness accounts is a direct assault on the judiciary and democracy itself. It reveals exactly how much democracy remains alive under the Modi regime,” Dallewal alleged.

Both SKM (Non-Political) and BKU Ekta Sidhupur issued a joint warning against what they called “state-sponsored oppression.” The organisations said they would continue to stand firmly with the student community, the farming community, and peaceful activists like Sonam Wangchuk in their fight against authoritarian policies.