Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers in Punjab held a protest in Bathinda on Thursday against Shirom Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal and party leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal over the Farm Bills, which were passed in parliament recently.
According to Baljinder Kaur, AAP MLA from Bhatinda, farmers in the state were experiencing dark days because of the Badal family.
"SAD is the reason farmers in the state are unable to sleep at night. They have misled the people of the state over and over again. The people of the state are against the anti-farmer laws that have been passed. We have not come here for political reasons but are here to stand with farmers and extend our support," Kaur said.
She added, "We will continue to protest till the farmers have what is rightfully theirs."
"The Badal family did not stand with the farmers earlier and only took action when they saw protests across the state. Now what is the point? They know that if they don't keep farmers happy they won't get votes in the next election. They don't really care about farmers," Rupinder Kaur Ruby, AAP MLA from Bhatinda said.
Similar protests have broken out across various parts of the country including Haryana and Odisha.
On September 17, SAD leader and Lok Sabha MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from the Union Cabinet, displaying her opposition to the three Bills.
According to the Centre, these Bills will help small and marginal farms by allowing them to sell produce outside mandis and sign agreements with agri-business firms and doing away with stock-holding limits on key commodities.
The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 were passed by Parliament on Sunday.
( With inputs from ANI )
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