Sukhbir Singh Badal of Akali Dal has called for a united and peaceful fight against the new agricultural laws. (Proceedings)
Chandigarh:
The controversial new agricultural bills, passed last week, may have disastrous implications for the national economy, Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said, calling on all opposition parties to close ranks for a united struggle. to save the country’s farmers.
Badal’s party, the SAD, was the BJP’s oldest ally before it left the National Democratic Alliance yesterday due to the center’s refusal to ensure the harvesting of crops with a minimum support price and the exclusion of Punjabi as an official language in Jammu and Kashmir. SAD is the third major NDA member to withdraw from the group after Shiv Sena and the Telugu Desam Party.
“The difficult economic situation of farmers affects the entire economy. Anything like new agricultural laws, which increase uncertainty about the fate of agricultural products, can have disastrous consequences for the economy and social stability of the country. So what we are fighting for is to protect the broader national interests of the country, “Badal told meetings of party workers and farmers in Ropar, Hoshiarpur and Phagwara in Punjab.
Faced with opposition from Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab, Mr. Badal has called on all political parties and organizations to close ranks for a united fight to protect the interests of farmers, agricultural workers and produce traders. agricultural country.
“We are ready to join or pursue any fight for the benefit of the general interests of farmers, agricultural workers, aarhatiyas (agricultural agents) and other traders of agricultural products,” he said.
Badal’s call to unite has resonated with the Shiv Sena and the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal.
“We support the position of Badal and SAD for farmers. Fighting for farmers is part of Trinamool DNA. In 2006, Mamata Banerjee risked her life in a historic 26-day fast for farmers’ rights. We oppose the Farm Bills 2020 because they endanger states “function, minimum support price, public distribution system and procurement,” Trinamool Congressman Derek O’Brien tweeted.
Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut also posted a message in support of SAD saying, “Shiv Sena appreciates Akali Dal’s decision to sever ties with NDA in the interest of farmers.”
The SAD president also reiterated his party’s commitment to preserving peace, community harmony and brotherhood in Punjab. “I must warn against attempts to smear our struggle by disturbing the peace,” Badal said.
Farmers have been protesting the bills out of fear that they will end the price support system and encourage the entry of private actors. They want these bills to be repealed. Opposition parties have backed farmers’ demands for legislative guarantees for continued government support in purchasing agricultural products.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the farmers’ protests a result of “propaganda” by opposition parties and argued that the new bills benefit farmers by giving them the option to sell their produce “anywhere to any price, “something you mentioned in today’s Mann Ki. The Baat radio show too.
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