SAD delegation meets President Kovind, requests him to not sign the Farm Bills

A delegation of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) met President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday to discuss the contentious Farm Bills that have caused a massive uproar in the Parliament over the last few days. The SAD delegation requested the President to not sign on the 'anti-farmer' bills, alleging that they had been passed forcibly in the Rajya Sabha.

"We requested him to send back the bills to the Parliament," said SAD Chief Sukhbir Singh Badal. "They (farmers) are facing exploitation and look up to you to exercise your discretion as the highest executive in the country and come to their rescue. If the Bills become an Act, the poor classes & their future generations will never forgive us," said the party to the President. 

SAD reconsidering alliance with BJP-led NDA?

Earlier party sources had informed PTI that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) will decide on whether it wanted to continue its alliance with BJP-led NDA after taking into account the fate of three farm bills in Rajya Sabha. After the Farm Bills were passed in the Upper House, SAD MP Naresh Gujral suggested that the agricultural reform bills be sent to a select committee of the Rajya Sabha so that the opinions of all stakeholders are heard. Addressing the Rajya Sabha on Sunday, Gujral remarked that there is a 'trust deficit and communication gap' despite an increase in MSP.

A senior party leader had informed PTI that at the moment SAD's main focus was to safeguard the interests of farmers, and not its alliance with the BJP. The core group of SAD on September 19 held a meeting in Delhi with several others joining through video conference from Punjab to discuss its next course of action after Harsimrat Kaur resigned from the Cabinet in protest against the three agriculture bills. Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who tendered her resignation to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had said, "I don't want to be part of a government which brought farm sector bills without addressing apprehensions of farmers."

Read: SAD Lambasts Punjab CM's 'double Standards' On Farm Bills, Cites Case Of Cong's Ally Sena

Read: SAD To Take Call On NDA Alliance After Considering Fate Of Farm Bills In Rajya Sabha

In his speech during a discussion on two of the farm bills -- the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill -- in Lok Sabha, Sukhbir Singh Badal said the proposed laws will "destroy" the 50 years of hard work put in by successive Punjab governments and farmers to build the agriculture sector.

The party has two MPs in the Lok Sabha and three in the Rajya Sabha.

Read: SAD MP Suggests Sending Farm Bills To Select Committee Of Rajya Sabha Amid Opposition

Read: 'Harsimrat Kaur Resigned Out Of Compulsion; SAD Is A Burden To NDA': Punjab Congress Chief