Q) What is the future of SAD’s alliance with NDA after Harsimrat Kaur Badal’s resignation from the Union Cabinet? Will you continue as partners in the government?
Our core committee will meet soon and take a call on the future of the alliance with the NDA government. Right now, as things stand, we are still part of the NDA. We are quite mindful of the fact that the situation is grim in the country as we are eyeballed to eyeball with PLA and Pakistan is trying to create disturbance in the border state of Punjab. We will consider all these factors in our core committee meeting. The core committee is likely to meet after the Monsoon session of the Parliament. We as a party, support the way the government is handling the China issue. I believe that the government couldn’t have done it in a better way.
Q) BJP president J P Nadda has assured your party that the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) will remain despite the Bills. Why are you still adamant?
If the government is assuring MSP, why not put it in the Bill itself? If you remember certain things are promised to Andhra Pradesh on the floor of the House, which is not carried through. The farmers of Haryana and Punjab wanted to be part of the Act. Mere statements are not enough. Our concerns are purely on the basis of the farmers' grievances. While the government says that it’s a reform measure, the farmers perceive it to be against their interests. There’s a huge communication gap, primarily because the stakeholders were not taking into confidence before the Bills were passed or it was made into an ordinance. We have been suggesting sending the Bills to the select committee. Let the government address the concerns of the stakeholders. They must fine-tune the bills accordingly.