One year of contentious central agriculture laws: SAD ‘black day’ march chokes Delhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 17

Thousands of workers of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) held a ‘black day’ protest in the national capital, seeking repeal of the three central farm laws and demanding a legal guarantee on the minimum support price.

Seeks Acts’ repeal, legal guarantee on MSP

The SAD submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister through the Executive Magistrate on duty. The memorandum sought repeal of the farm laws, a legal and constitutional guarantee on MSP, a legal guarantee for the assured purchase of all major crops, resumption of talks between government and farmers, among others.

Will fight reletentlessly

The SAD will fight relentlessly to ensure repeal of the three agriculture acts. These will not be implemented in Punjab if the SAD-BSP alliance comes to power. — Sukhbir Singh Badal, SAD President

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal along with several party leaders was detained as party workers thronged the Rakabganj Sahib Gurdwara. The Delhi Police had set up barricades at several roads leading to Delhi to scan all vehicles with Punjab or Chandigarh registration numbers. Key roads leading into the national capital from Gurugram, Rohtak, Chandigarh and Ghaziabad, respectively, saw snarl-ups.

The SAD march started from the gurdwara towards Parliament, a distance of about 1 km, breaking through the barricading.

A memorandum was submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the Executive Magistrate on duty at the site. The memorandum chiefly sought repeal of the central farm laws, a legal and constitutional guarantee on the MSP, a legal guarantee on the assured purchase of all major crops and farmer produce, resumption of talks between the government with farmers and, a provision requiring consultation with stakeholders before bringing any legislation impacting their lives.

Earlier, addressing protesters, Sukhbir said the party would fight relentlessly to ensure repeal of the three Acts. The entire senior leadership of the SAD, including Prem Singh Chandumajra, Balwinder Singh Bhundur and Harsimrat Kaur Badal condemned the “high-handed” manner in which party workers were prevented from reaching the national capital. They said some workers had to walk as far as 20 km.

Sukhbir reminded that Harsimrat resigned from the Union Cabinet and the party severed ties with the NDA government in solidarity with farmers. He alleged the farm laws were first introduced in Parliament during the tenure of the Manmohan Singh-led Congress government. Subsequently, the Congress in Punjab amended the APMC Act to bring in private mandis and the same was promised nationwide in its 2019 manifesto.