Akali Dal said they quit the alliance over controversial Farm Bills (Archive)
New Delhi:
The Shiromani Akali Dal, one of the BJP’s oldest allies, said on Saturday that he would resign from the ruling party’s National Democratic Alliance (NDA) following sharp differences over three controversial agricultural sector bills passed earlier this month .
Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal had previously said that the Akalis, who initially supported the bills, are reviewing ties with the ruling party and had also asked President Ram Nath Kovind to “support the farmers” and does not pass the laws.
The Akali Dal attracts a large part of its voter base from farmers in Punjab who have vehemently opposed the new laws for fear that it will end the price support system (MSP) and the entry of private actors who, they say , will put small and marginal farmers at risk.
Badal’s wife, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, had resigned as a trade union minister in protest last week when the bills were passed in parliament amid a large opposition outcry and a controversial vote.
The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has defended the bills as reforms to help rid India’s vast agricultural sector of outdated laws and allow farmers to sell to institutional buyers and large retailers like Walmart.
The government insists that the new rules give farmers the option to sell their products to private buyers while still buying staples like rice and wheat at guaranteed prices.
But those guarantees have failed to appease millions of farmers in Punjab and Haryana who saw thousands take to the streets, blocking roads and train tracks on Friday in a protest.
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