Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Thursday resigned from the Cabinet in protest against farm sector related Bills.
“Shiromani Akali Dal member and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal will resign from government in protest against farm Bills,” party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal earlier said in Lok Sabha as the Modi government tabled two more farm-sector related Bills in the lower house amid widespread protests by farmers.
“We oppose it,” Sukhbir Badal said.
Shiromani Akali Dal, an ally of the BJP and NDA partner, had protested against the first of three such Bills on September 15 as well.
While making the announcement in parliament today, her husband and party chief Sukhbir Badal said the Akalis will continue to support the government and BJP but will oppose the “anti-farmer politics”.
ਸ਼੍ਰੋਮਣੀ ਅਕਾਲੀ ਦਲ ਕੇਂਦਰ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਦੇ ਤਿੰਨਾਂ ਖੇਤੀ ਆਰਡੀਨੈਂਸਾਂ ਦਾ ਵਿਰੋਧ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ।@Akali_Dal_ opposes all the three agriculture #ordinances of the Central Government.#ParliamentSession pic.twitter.com/ioiKGQk9jM
— Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) September 17, 2020
The bills — which the BJP claims is big ticket reform in the agri sector — have hugely upset the farmers of Punjab and Haryana, who have been holding protests for weeks.
The Akalis, who initially supported the laws, have now woken up to the potential damage it might cause them in the state and appealed to the Centre to press pause on the issue till the concerns of the farmers are addressed.
But with the BJP remaining adamant, the party decided to withdraw their support to the bills and vote against them in parliament today.