Harsimrat displays farmers' photos in Parliament

New Delhi: Former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Tuesday displayed images of farmers who were martyred in the course of the ongoing Kisan Andolan in the Parliament, even as she asserted that the NDA would be evicted in 2024 to pave the way for a pro-Kisan government.

The Shiromani Akali Dal MP from Bathinda first raised the issue of farmers, who had laid down their lives during the Kisan Andolan, by holding their pictures outside the Parliament along with other SAD-BSP MPs while waving banners saying "Kendra sarkar kar le pehchan, yeh hain hamara shaheed kisan".

Later, raising the same issue in the Lok Sabha while rising to speak on the 127th Amendment Bill, Harsimrat Badal said that she had brought the pictures of the farmers to the Parliament because Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had questioned their very existence by stating that the government did not have data of the deaths during the Kisan Andolan.

She demanded that the government should reach out to the affected families and provide succour to them instead of questioning their existence.

The SAD leader also hit out at the Congress for adopting double standards by raising the issue of farmers outside the Parliament, but insisting that only the Pegasus snoopgate be taken up for discussion inside the House.

She said the Congress should have also demanded a discussion on the need to repeal the three Central farm laws.

Speaking about the Union government, she said it is unfortunate that there is dictatorship within the government and only those issues are taken up for discussion in the Parliament which are favourable to the ruling party.

Asking the Centre not to assume such an attitude, she said, "You should adopt a good model which assures prosperity for farmers, instead of wanting to demolish them."

Speaking about the 127th Amendment, she said that SAD supported it as it is a votary for giving more power to the state and strengthening the federal structure of the country.

She said this is best exemplified by the struggle of former Punjan Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who remained in prison for 18 years for vouching this demand.

She said the amendment, which sought to restore the power of the states to identify backward castes, would be a boon for the backward people and would ensure their reservation, both in educational institutions as well as government jobs.