Harsimrat resigns from govt, SAD to decide on alliance

NEW DELHI: In a setback to the Modi government, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) member Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Thursday resigned from the Union Cabinet in protest against three farm sectors bills.
“I have resigned from the Union Cabinet in protest against anti-farmer ordinances and legislation. Proud to stand with farmers as their daughter and sister,” she tweeted, barely hours before the bills were passed by Lok Sabha.
Her resignation came soon after her husband and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal strongly opposed the bills in Lok Sabha, claiming that they will “destroy” the agriculture sector in Punjab, and announced that the Union minister will quit the government in protest.
In her four-page resignation letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kaur said despite her persistent pleas and repeated efforts from her party, the Central government has not taken farmers on board regarding these bills.
It could not be immediately ascertained if the Prime Minister has accepted her resignation.
The SAD is the BJP’s oldest ally and has stood by the saffron party through thick and thin, and the development highlights the frayed ties between the two parties over the agriculture reforms being pursued by the Union government through these proposed legislations.
After the passage of the farm bills, Badal told reporters that his party will decide on the future course of action, and whether to stay in the ruling NDA in a party meeting later. (PTI)