“These ordinances are affecting Punjab more,” said Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Chandigarh:
Facing the heat of farmers in Punjab, Shiromani Akali Dal, an ally of the ruling BJP in the center, said the party had not been consulted on the agriculture-related ordinances that were recently passed by the union cabinet and the bills. correspondents that were presented at Lok Sabha on Monday.
“The government should have consulted parties like SAD (Shiromani Akali Dal), which is a party of farmers and poor, before issuing ordinances. They did not ask us about this ordinance. When the ordinance was brought to the cabinet, our representative in the cabinet raised inquiries. These ordinances are affecting Punjab more. Punjab farmers did not get their answers, “Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said on Tuesday.
While the party had previously supported the center’s decision, the change in position came after a meeting of the Akali Dal central committee last Saturday, when the party had called on the center not to present the three ordinances for its approval in parliament until farmers’ reserves are directed.
Farmers in Punjab and Haryana have been protesting against three agriculture-related ordinances enacted on June 5: the Trade in Agricultural and Agricultural Products (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance 2020; The Farmers Agreement (Empowerment and Protection) on Price Guarantee and Agricultural Services Ordinance, 2020; and the Essential Products (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020. The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Essential Products (Amendment) Bill of 2020, which seeks to deregulate foods, including grains, legumes and onions.
The Akali Dal opposed the 2020 Essential Products (Amendment) Bill on Tuesday, saying that as part of the farmer, he cannot support anything that goes against the interests of the “annadaata (food supplier)” in the country, especially in Punjab.
The ruling Congress of Akali Dal and Punjab are trying to outdo each other to win over farmers by opposing the ordinances.
“SAD is essentially a farmers’ organization. Every Akali is a farmer and every farmer is an Akali at heart. The party has always championed the cause of farmers and made supreme sacrifices to safeguard their interests. That legacy cannot and will not. it will be compromised or diluted, no matter what price we have to pay, ”said Sukhbit Singh Badal at the Lok Sabha.
Earlier, Akali Dal attacked Punjab’s Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, asking him to desist from “repeatedly lying and trying to mislead Punjabis with malicious statements.”
Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia said that Amarinder Singh had been exposed on the floor of the Lok Sabha with a Union minister pointing out that he was part of the consultative process that led to the development of the central ordinances on agriculture. “The cat is out of the bag. Now it is clear that you and your government supported the Farm Ordinances, but now you are trying to solve this problem as you have repeatedly done in the past. No amount of refusals can wash away the stain of selling the crops. interests of the farmers of the state that will always pursue you, “he said in a statement.
Majithia also condemned Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for “fleeing like cowards to avoid voting” against the proposed amendments to the Essential Products Act, leaving Akali Dal to vote against the bill.
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