Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal
Two days after the three Bills that aimed to negate the Central farm laws were passed by the legislative Assembly in Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Thursday rejected them, saying the ruling Congress played fraud with the farmers.
"Amarinder Singh played fraud with the farmers through misuse of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha. All the anti-farmer acts passed by the Centre have been endorsed by him," SAD president Sukhbir Badal told the media here.
Taking a jibe at the Punjab Chief Minister, Badal said, "Amarinder Singh is boasting of resignation. Those who were sincere have already resigned. Shiromani Akali Dal representative Harsimrat Badal resigned and does not even boast about it."
He said the Chief Minister lied on the floor of the Vidhan Sabha by claiming that he had discussed everything about the issue with the farmers' organisations before bringing the Bills.
"Are these (farmers') organisations happy with these Acts," asked Badal.
Without mincing words, the MP and former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab said that the state Congress and the BJP's Central leadership have hatched a conspiracy to confuse and divert the farmers' agitation away from Punjab.
"These Bills were prepared only in Delhi," he said.
The party's core committee rejected the Bills, he said.
"The Chief Minister misled the House by reading a resolution that the Assembly would reject the Central farm Acts. In fact, the Punjab farm Bills indirectly accept the Central acts and have added amendments to those. We supported them in the House as we were not given copies of the Bills early enough to read and understand them. We trusted the CM, but he has betrayed the House and the farmers," Badal added.
Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the Akali Dal's lone minister in the Narendra Modi government, resigned from the Union Cabinet on September 17 to protest the Centre's farm laws.
