To protect the interests of farmers, farm labour and farm produce traders in the country, especially in Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday called upon all political parties and organizations to close ranks for a united fight.
“We are ready to join or follow any struggle in the overall interests of the farmers, farm labour, Arhatiyas and other farm produce traders,” said Sukhbir, while making his first public speech after the party broke alliance with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Saturday night.
He said that the country needed to understand and empathize with the farmers and farm labour in view of the pathetic conditions in which they were living.
“Anything like the new farm bills which increases the uncertainty over the fate of the farmers’ produce can have disastrous implications not only for economy but also for social stability in the country. The farmers’ economic plight affects the entire economy. Therefore what we are fighting for is to protect the country’s wider national interests,” he said.
Reiterating his party’s firm commitment to preserving peace, communal harmony and fraternity in Punjab at all costs, he said: “We must not flinch from the ideals of keeping our struggle for people’s rights absolutely peaceful and democratic. I must caution against attempts to defame our struggle by disturbing peace but that should only strengthen our resolve to safeguard the age-old values of Punjabi fraternity and the path of peaceful democratic struggle.”
He again advised the Chief Minister to issue an ordinance to declare the whole state a Mandi (Principal Marketing Yard) to save farmers from ‘black laws’.
Sukhbir was addressing gatherings of party workers and farmers at Ropar, Hoshiarpur and Phagwara on Sunday, to mobilize them for October 1 Kisan March, which would commence from all three religious Takht Sahibs in Punjab and culminate at Mohali.
Later, Sukhbir said: “If we stand united, we will force the Central Government to bow before farmers and repeal the three bills. These bills were passed in the Parliament with sheer stubbornness after muzzling our voice.”
BREAKING ‘MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE’ WITH BJP CAN’T TURN SAD INTO A HOLY COW: RANDHAWA
Senior Congress leader and Punjab Cabinet Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Sunday asserted that SAD cannot wash its hands off the “sins” it committed even after ending its “marriage of convenience” with the BJP owing to “political compulsions as well as pressure mounted by the farmers’ agitation”. In fact, the Minister maintained that the Badal clan owes a public apology for casting aspersions on Dr Manmohan Singh, the former Prime Minister, at the instigation of the saffron party.
“The Badals were equal partners in the NDA Government which brought the economy to its lowest ebb which was earlier put on upward trajectory by the UPA Government under the leadership of Dr Manmohan Singh with great efforts. By acting as puppets in BJP’s hands, the akalis continued personal criticism of Dr Manmohan Singh,” he said adding that despite granting various financial sops to Punjab, Dr Manmohan Singh never got a word of gratitude from the SAD.
Randhawa added that with breaking of alliance with BJP, Akali Dal cannot claim itself to be a holy cow as the party is an equitable ally in crime during wrongs committed against the State of Punjab, Minorities and the farmers during NDA regime. He also challenged SAD to come clean on BJP’s statements regarding Akalis in loop over the farm ordinances as well as duty assigned by the saffron party to bring the farmers on board.
SUKHBIR SHOULD IMMEDIATELY RESIGN AS SAD PREZ: BAJWA
Punjab Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa on Sunday asked the Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal to immediately resign as party chief because his party, despite of being a long time ally in Narendra Modi Government, failed miserably to protect the interests of Punjabis. “He no longer has the moral and political right to remain as president of Shiromani Akali Dal,” said Bajwa adding that the decision to sever ties with the BJP and come out of the NDA was in fact a “confession” of the Akali Dal.
He said that SAD had not severed ties with BJP out of any principle or morality but due to political compulsion because the Punjabis completely ignored the SAD’s call of ‘chakka jam’ on September 25 and shown that they would no longer be fooled by the Akalis. Terming SAD’s decision to start Akali March from the great thrones of the Sikh Panth on October 1 as unfortunate, Bajwa said that Akali Dal should refrain from using religion as a cover for its politics.
SAD QUITS NDA “OUT OF COMPULSION”: DHINDSA
Dissident Akali leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa on Sunday said that SAD snapped ties with the NDA “out of compulsion” as farmers were angry with it over the farm bills. “They (SAD) have done it out of compulsion as farmers are upset with them,” said Dhindsa, a Rajya Sabha member.
He said that the Akali Dal initially supported the bills with even party stalwart Parkash Singh Badal speaking in the favour. “They then took a U-turn, saying that it is not in the interest of farmers. Were these bills not bad for farmers earlier?” he asked, while alleging that the SAD has lost support at the ground level in the state. Dhindsa, who had formed the SAD (Democratic) party, said that his political outfit has been supporting farmers from the beginning over the issue. “From day one, we have been supporting farmers and standing with them. Our party wants the issue to be resolved at the earliest,” he said.
AFTER JAITLEY, NO ONE IN BJP UNDERSTANDS PUNJAB’S PSYCHE: GUJRAL
A day after the SAD announced to quit the NDA over the farm Bills issue, senior party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Gujral on Sunday said that after former Union Minister and BJP stalwart Arun Jaitley’s demise, no one in the BJP understands the psyche of Punjab. Underlining that all sections of people in Punjab are extremely angry over the farm Bills issue, Gujral said: “I hope that even at this late stage, the Centre would show some sensitivity in dealing with the Punjab situation before it gets out of hand.” Gujral hoped that the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre will show “some sensitivity” in dealing with the situation in Punjab. “The decision to break the alliance was taken based on the feedback from party cadre. Being a cadre-based party, the SAD respects their wishes,” he said.
NOW BJP DOESN’T LISTEN TO OUR CONCERNS ABOUT PUNJAB, FARMERS: BHUNDER
Senior Akali leader and Rajya Sabha MP Balwinder Singh Bhunder on Sunday said that the alliance between the SAD and BJP continued for four decades, but the equation has now changed. “We came together to fight against the atrocities of the Congress. The Akali Dal was always consulted on issues of farmers and Punjab. But now BJP didn’t listen to our concerns about Punjab and issues related to farmers,” he said. Bhunder said that unlike former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s rule, allies have not been given much importance in the current NDA dispensation.
BJP LEADERSHIP WANTED TO GET RID OF AKALIS: JAKHAR
Reacting over SAD”s decision to break up ties with BJP, Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar on Sunday said that Akalis had it coming for a while now.
“Fearful of farmers’ wrath on one hand and being equally scared of antagonizing the Prime Minister on the other, Akalis tried to do a balancing act,” he said.
“Akalis didn’t want to break their ties with BJP and were keen to keep up this pretense of an alliance, which is evident from their not walking out of the BJP-led NDA even when they were shown the door out of central Cabinet and afterwards Harsimrat Badal still insisting that she was not calling these laws anti-farmer and only farmers had termed these as anti-farmer,” Jakhar said.
Maintaining that the Akalis were desperately waiting for some sign of re-approachment from the BJP, he said: “No senior leader in the saffron party was willing to even meet them and their calls for seeking appointment went unheeded which is a clear sign that BJP saw through their game and were in no mood to accept a kind of loose arrangement akin to a ‘live in relationship’, being proposed by the Akalis.
They wanted to get rid of the Akalis but didn’t want to be seen as initiators of this ‘break-up’.”
