Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigns fin protest against farm bills

Sept. 17: Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from her post of Union Cabinet Minister of Food Processing in protest against the Farm bills on Thursday. The three ordinances which have become a bone of contention between leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) are Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020 and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 which got passed in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The minister, who attended the cabinet meet that cleared the bills, stepped down shortly before the bill was passed in Lok Sabha, tweeting that she was “Proud to stand with farmers as their daughter & sister”. Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal said they would support the government from outside but oppose “anti-farmer policies”.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said Harsimrat Kaur’s resignation was “too little too late”. HE also questioned the Akali Dal’s decision to continue to remain a part of the ruling NDA. The Chief Minister said that the resignation was nothing more than a gimmick to fool the farmers of Punjab.