Despite Modi Govt U-Turn on Farm Laws, No Alliance With BJP in Punjab: Akali Dal

Party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said he had warned PM Narendra Modi that farmers would never accept the laws.

Sukhbir Singh Badal

(Photo: The Quint)

Even as Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi announced that the Union government will repeal its controversial farm laws on Friday, 19 November, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), has ruled out reigniting an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the upcoming state elections in Punjab.

Responding to a query from news agency ANI, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said that there was no possibility of restoring their alliance with the BJP.

The Akali Dal had been the longest-running partner of the saffron party till it broke with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) over the farm laws; Harsimrat Kaur Badal even withdrew from the Union Cabinet over their differences last year.

"700 lives have been lost (at the farmers' protests)... the country saw the martyrdom of these people. I had told the Prime Minister in Parliament... that the farmers won't agree to the black laws that were framed by the government."

Sukhbir Singh Badal to ANI

SAD party patron Parkash Singh Badal had previously congratulated the farmers, calling the decision to repeal the laws a "defining moment in the history and the greatest event in the history of farmers' struggles all over the world."

He also pointed out the deaths of 700 farmers during the protests, and said that their deaths and the disgraceful incidents like Lakhimpur Kheri "will always be a dark blot on this govt's face."