Akali Dal's Parkash Badal returns Padma Vibhushan in protest against farm laws

In protest against the farm laws, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) stalwart Parkash Singh Badal returned Padma Vibhushan. SAD, which had earlier pulled out of NDA on account of the law, had appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to personally address all genuine issues of agitating farmers after putting aside all his other engagements.

The prime minister should resolve the issues of agitating 'annadatas' on a top national priority basis, the SAD said in a statement here. When the Centre is repeatedly assuring farmers of continued procurement of their produce at the minimum support price, there should be no hitch in giving it a legal shape through necessary legislation, it added.

The SAD core committee, party's highest decision-making body, also slammed the Haryana government for alleged repression of farmers heading to the national capital in response to the 'Delhi Chalo' call to protest against the Centre's three new farm laws.

The fact is that the BJP and its governments at the Centre and in Haryana have got jittery by the success of farmers' secular and democratic movement, said SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal in the statement.

The SAD president said his party has been in the movement from the first day. "We led a massive farmers' protest march to Chandigarh. The party later merged its efforts with the ongoing movement as there were apprehensions that a parallel show by the SAD might hamper a united fight against the Centre."

"Since then, in deference to the wishes of the agitating farmers, our entire focus and efforts have been towards a united fight with whole-hearted participation by our workers at different levels," said Badal.

Badal also set up a three-member committee comprising Akali leaders Balwinder Singh Bhundur, Prem Singh Chandumajra and Sikander Singh Maluka to coordinate with leaders of the like-minded national and regional parties across the country for an all-round effort to secure justice for the farmers and get the black laws against them repealed. 

-Inputs from PTI