Akali Dal escalates anti-Centre push; Will meet CMs Mamata & Uddhav over farm laws row

Senior Akali Dal leader Prem Singh Chandumajra has said that the party is reaching out to political parties across the nation who are in support of farmers against the newly enacted laws." Just to make the Central government realise about the farmers' pain, we are reaching to all local and state-level parties to discuss the issue," the former MP said.

Akali Dal delegation to meet Uddhav and Mamata

Shiromani Akali Dal who recently walked out of the NDA over the agriculture laws will send one delegation to meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on December 6 whose party Shiv Sena was also a part of the NDA until last year. A day before, Chandumajra will himself lead a delegation to Kolkata to meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the issue. Sources said another delegation of the party will meet President Ram Nath Kovind as well to demand the withdrawal of the contentious laws. 

On Thursday, Akali Dal stalwart and former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal returned his Padma Vibhushan award in protest against the Centre's new farm laws. Dissident Akali leader and Rajya Sabha member Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa also said he will return the Padma Bhushan conferred on him last year. Earlier, some former Punjab sportsmen too have threatened to return their awards.

Centre-Farmer talks fail to end standoff

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh made an appeal to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the protesting farmers to find an early resolution to the impasse, saying the agitation was affecting Punjab's economy and the nation's security.

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Marathon talks between the government and agitating farmer unions on Thursday failed to end the standoff over the new farm laws as the protestors refused to budge on their demands and another round of discussions will be held on December 5 in a bid to forge a resolution.

Enacted in September, the laws have been projected by the government as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country. However, the protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of Minimum Support Price and scrap the mandis, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates. The Centre has repeatedly asserted that these mechanisms will remain.

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