Indian PM Modi visits a Sikh temple while the entire community opposes his farm laws

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done an unscheduled visit to a Sikh temple in New Delhi, kneeling in respect and taking photographs with visitors when the community is holding massive demonstrations against his government for farm reforms.

At least 25 people have died during protests against the three laws - approved by Parliament in September - so far, police said; The cold weather led to many deaths.

Modi, whose security detail often keeps him away from the general public, prayed at the Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib on Sunday, communicated with Sikh religious heads there and forced visitors to take photographs with him.

Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib- is a Temple near Parliament House, where Sikh saint Guru Tegh Bahadur was cremated.

"I feel very blessed," Modi said on Twitter.

But while some social media users and their party colleagues welcomed Modi's visit to the temple "like a common man, with no restrictions", others urged him to try to end the protests.

One Twitter user posted, "A request from @narendramodi visit the #FarmersProtests site where #Farmers are protesting peacefully."

Thousands of objecting farmers, largely from Sikh-dominated Punjab and neighbouring Haryana, have been hindering highways in New Delhi for the last three weeks, demanding the repeal of new farming laws, which the government says will expand the agricultural market and is important to promote.

Many farmers largely in their sixties or older are sleeping in the open, experiencing harsh winter weather in their tractors and trailers parked on the side of highways.

Farmers and migrant farmers in India have recently rallied against the diversion of agricultural markets.

Farmers fears that selling more to private companies chasing profits will cause farm incomes to fall, and will eventually take away the minimum support price that the government sets for selling crops in government-regulated wholesale markets.

The protesters have repeated the efforts of Modi and his ministers to reach an agreement, which became the biggest challenge from the country's farmers during his six-year rule.

On Wednesday, a 65-year-old Sikh priest took his own life at a protest site, leaving behind a note in which he spoke of his decision to feel the pain of the struggling peasants and "sacrifice themselves" for their fight. .