The Shiromani Akali Dal on Monday urged President Ram Nath Kovind not to give his assent to the three agriculture sector Bills passed by the Parliament.
‘Rescue farmers’
A delegation led by party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal met the President in New Delhi and urged him to “act as the nation’s conscience keeper and the custodian of the Constitution” and come to the rescue of farmers, farm and ‘mandi’ labourers and farm traders.
Mr. Badal said the core committee of the party would meet soon to decide on the course of action to take the struggle for justice to the next level. “But we will stand by the farmers every inch of the way forward. We are a farmers’ party and 95% of our members are farmers,” he said.
Mr. Badal warned that “ignoring the sentiments of farmers can have the potential to disturb social harmony and peace in the country”.
He said the party has asked the President to heed to the sentiments of numerous beleaguered farmers, labourers and and commission agents and send the Bills back to Parliament for reconsideration.
Committee sought
The memorandum submitted by the party also urged the President to advise the government to send the Bills to a select committee of Parliamentarians, which could then take the stakeholders on board before presenting the Bills to Parliament again.
