File photo of Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal.
SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said his party can make any sacrifice in the interests of farmers, as he expressed concern about the three bills.
- News18.com
- Last update: September 16, 2020 9:05 PM IST
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With unrest among farmers growing up in Punjab, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), an ally of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Center, issued a whip on Wednesday to vote against the three bills. of the agricultural sector that were presented in Parliament on Monday.
SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said his party can make any sacrifice in the interests of farmers as he expressed concern about the bills.
Underlining that he himself comes from a family of farmers, Sukhbir said that SAD is essentially a party of farmers and has always championed their cause.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had said on Tuesday that the introduction of the agricultural bills in Parliament by the Center had “fully exposed” SAD’s “claim” to protect the interests of the state’s farmers.
On Monday, the government presented the ‘Draft Law on Trade (Promotion and Facilitation) of Agricultural Products and Trade (Promotion and Facilitation)’ and the ‘Farmers Agreement (Empowerment and Protection) on Price Guarantee and Agricultural Services Law’ , and the ‘Essential Products (Amendment) Bill’ to replace previously enacted ordinances. One of them, the 2020 Essential Products (Amendment) Bill, was discussed on Tuesday and passed by oral vote.
Taking part in the debate, Sukhbir said that when the ordinance was being discussed in the cabinet, his party colleague and Union minister, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, had raised objections and conveyed farmers’ concerns. She had asked for the ordinance to be postponed, but it was issued anyway, Sukhbir said. Harsimrat Kaur Badal is the Union food processing minister in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The government should not have implemented the ordinance without consulting farmers, agricultural organizations and parties like SAD who have a substantial presence among the farming community, Sukhbir said, adding that these stakeholders should have been brought in. Since the ordinance was issued, “we have been asking the government not to push and not present this bill. But our voice was not heard,” he said.
Punjab farmers have been agitating and blocking the roads for the past few days against bills that many have called “anti-farmer” as they will leave them to the fate of market forces.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had said on Tuesday that the introduction of the agricultural bills in Parliament by the Center had “fully exposed” SAD’s “claim” to protect the interests of the state’s farmers.
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