Akali Dal chief lashes out at PM Modi at farmer protest: "Resignation hit like a bomb"

Lashing out at its NDA ally since 1997 - BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday, said that Union Cabinet minister Harsmirat Kaur Badal's resignation was like a 'bomb dropped on Modi'. Comparing his wife's resignation to the USA's bombing on Japan during World War -II, Badal said that no alliance is bigger than the farmer. Addressing a major farmer's protest rally at Punjab's Lambi village in Muktsar district, Badal demanded that CM Amarinder Singh must declare the state as one 'Mandi' to make the three bills 'unenforceable'.     

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Badal resigns in protest

On September 17, during the Lok Sabha debate on the Farm Bills,  BJP's staunch ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) opposed the three Farm bills in the Lok Sabha. SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal announced that  Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal will resign from the government to protest farm bills. The minister stated, "My decision symbolises my party’s vision, its glorious legacy and its commitment to go to any extent to safeguard the interests of the farmers.” The party is yet to decide its future in the NDA.

Reports state that BJP leader Madan Mohan Mittal has been daring Akali Dal to split away from the NDA, ahead of the state polls in 2022. The BJP-Akali Dal currently have a seat-sharing formula of 94 seats (Akali Dal) and 23 seats (BJP) in the state assembly and 10 seats (Akali Dal) and 3 seats (BJP) for the Lok Sabha. In order to establish a presence in the farmer-strong Punjab, the BJP has now demanded  59 seats out of the 117 seats in the state, as per reports.

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Farmers protests against the 3 bills

In the food bowl of India - Punjab and Haryana, 31 farmer organisations under aegis of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) staged a Bharat Bandh, taking to the streets to block highways. Farmers have already started a three-day rail blockade against the bills and squatted on tracks at many places in Punjab. Similar protests are currently underway in Karnataka, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu with farmers demanding rollback of the bills. Prime Minister Modi has assured farmers that mandis and minimum sale price will remain, allaying the main concern of farmers and lashed out at the Opposition for 'spreading rumours'.

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