No alliance bigger for us than welfare of farmers: Sukhbir Singh Badal

CHANDIGARH: The SAD-BJP alliance could be reaching a flash point sooner than expected, if the speeches by top leaders of the parties are any indication. SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said at Talwandi Sabo on Thursday that no alliance or government was more important for the party than the welfare of the farmers.

“We proved it by voting against the agriculture Bills in Parliament and resigning from the Union cabinet. It was only after Harsimrat Kaur Badal (his wife) resigned from the cabinet that the Opposition united against the Bills. It is for the first time in the country’s history that a Union minister resigned in this manner,” said Sukhbir. 

Harsimrat Kaur Badal and said she had written an adverse note on the file when the draft ordinance was shared with her ministry. “I had requested that the matter should be referred to a select committee pending discussion with farmers. When I came to know the ‘kala kanoon’ (black law) was being tabled in Parliament, I decided to resign,” she said.

On the other hand, ex-state cabinet minister and BJP’s core panel member Madan Mohan Mittal dared SAD to break the alliance. “We are not breaking the alliance with the Akali Dal; if they want, they can. The SAD cannot form the next government in 2022 without the support of the BJP as we will not act as a junior alliance partner and will contest 59 seats out of the 117 instead of only 23 last time,” he said. A group within the BJP had been advocating severing ties with the SAD. Mittal said it is not easy for the Akalis to wash their hands of sacrilege incidents.