Sukhbir Badal urges President not to sign the farm Bills

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday urged the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind not to put his seal of approval on the farm sector Bills passed by the parliament.

Sukhbir has requested the President to grant a personal audience to a delegation of senior leaders of his party, all of whom are themselves farmers. The delegation will be led by Badal himself. He has appealed to the President to return the Bills to the Parliament for reconsideration.

“I beseech you to please stand by the farmers, farm labour (Khet Mazdoors), Mandi labour and Dalits in their hour of need. They are facing exploitation and look up to you to exercise your discretion as the highest executive in the country and come to their rescue by not signing these Bills so that they do not acquire the finality of an Act,” said Sukhbir Singh Badal in a plea to the President. Badal said that he had been deeply saddened by what happened in the Rajya Sabha on Sunday.

“Democracy is not about majoritarian oppression but about consultation, conciliation and consensus. All three democratic virtues were ignored in today’s proceedings. This distortion can only be corrected with a Presidential intervention,” said the SAD president.

The Rajya Sabha passed two controversial legislations on Sunday The bills in question are – the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill through a voice vote.