SAD ends its long term alliance with BJP-led NDA

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Saturday ended its alliance with the BJP-led NDA over disagreement with the contentious farm Bills. Party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal announced the end of the long-term alliance following a meeting of the core committee.

The announcement comes over a week after Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from the cabinet in protest against three ordinances- The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020; The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement; and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020.

Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal has said the party was never consulted on the ordinances, and that Harsimrat , his wife, had informed the government about farmers’ reservations.

SAD was one of the oldest allies of the BJP. It was amongst the first to support the 13-day Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. Akali patriarch Parkash Singh Badal is a founder member of National Democratic Alliance.

The two Bills – which seek to replace Ordinances passed in June – were passed in Parliament by voice vote and await the assent of the President. SAD had voted against the Bills.

Farmers in Haryana and Punjab have been agitating against the Bills. On September 25, SAD held large protests across Punjab as part of its ‘chakka jam’ programme to express solidarity with farmers even as it asked CM Amarinder Singh to call an immediate Cabinet meeting and pass an ordinance to declare the entire state as one mandi (Principal Market Yard) to ensure the central agricultural Bills are not enforceable in the state.