Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday said the decision of Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal to quit the Cabinet was another in the long chain of theatrics being enacted by the Shiromani Akali Dal.
Questioning the Akali Dal’s decision to continue being a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance at the Centre, the Chief Minister said Ms. Harsimrat’s resignation was nothing more than a gimmick to fool the farmers of Punjab. “But they [the Akalis] will not succeed in misleading farmer organisations,” he said, calling the resignation a case of “too little, too late”.
“Had the Akali Dal taken a stand earlier and supported the [State] government against the ordinances, the situation might not even have come to such a pass, and the Centre might have thought 10 times before introducing the ordinances and pushing the anti-farmer legislations in Parliament,” he said.
Leader of the Opposition and Aam Aadmi Party MLA Harpal Cheema said Ms. Harsimrat’s resignation was a victory for Punjab’s farmers. “The Akali Dal has been forced to take this decision after watching farmers’ protests against the Bills across the State. The greed of the Badal family for power at the Centre has been exposed. They were left with no choice but to oppose the Bills to protect their vote bank,” he said.
“SAD should now walk out of the NDA,” he added.
Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar said, “They [SAD] were trying to ride two horses, but ended up losing not only their face, also lost the Cabinet birth in the Central government, which they were trying to retain.”
Senior Akali Dal leader and former Minister Daljeet Singh Cheema said the interest of the farmers is foremost for the party. “Without taking farmers into confidence, no final decision should be taken. We are with the farmers, and hence Ms. Badal has quit,” said Mr. Cheema.
