A few days ago, Harsimrat Kaur Badal quit the BJP Government, making it official that Shiromani Akali Dal had pulled out of the ruling government. Within 10-days, the party has now announced that it has cut its ties completely with NDA. Hence, a 24-year-old relationship has finally come to an end.
The Three Farm Bills
The Three Farm Bills that were recently discussed in the Parliament have led to widespread agitations across the country. Farmers allege that these bills would be disastrous to their interests. Akali Dal, whose loyalty is high in this section, has quit NDA because of the same.
The party was under pressure in Punjab, as protests against the bills had become intense in the state. Congress and Aam Aadmi Party were also pointing out Akali Dal’s reluctance to pull out of the 24-year-old alliance.
SAD makes the decision official
After a three-hour-long emergency meeting of the core committee, SAD announced that it had cut ties with NDA. President Sukhbir Singh Badal said that despite being their oldest ally, BJP did not honor Akali Dal’s views on the matter. While that was the major reason, SAD also talked about the Central Government’s insensitivity towards Punjabi language and other Sikh issues.
Shiromani Akali Dal core committee decides unanimously to pull out of the BJP-led #NDA because of the Centre’s stubborn refusal to give statutory legislative guarantees to protect assured marketing of crops on #MSP and its continued insensitivity to Punjabi and #Sikh issues. pic.twitter.com/WZGy7EmfFj
— Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) September 26, 2020
SAD still hoping that Central Government would withdraw
Despite pulling out, SAD was still hopeful that the ruling party would not press with these bills. The Punjab-based party also opined that BJP was out of touch with the ground realities of the state. Sukhbir Singh further mentioned that the party has requested President Ram Nath Kovind not to approve the bills that are being criticized at the moment.
Source: Times of India
