CHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Akali Dal on Wednesday issued a whip to its members in the Rajya Sabha, asking them to oppose the Centre's farm-related legislations in the House.
It was issued by the party's chief whip Naresh Gujral.
They were directed to opposed the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill 2020; Farmers' Produce, Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020; and Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020.
SAD chief and Ferozepur Lok Sabha MP Sukhbir Singh Badal too had on Tuesday voted against the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 in the lower house of Parliament.
The party has three members in the Rajya Sabha--Naresh Gujral, Balwinder Singh Bhunder and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa.
Dhindsa is now a rebel Akali leader.
He had floated another political outfit in July this year.
Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, along with his son and former state finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, was expelled from the SAD in February this year allegedly for "anti-party" activities.
Meanwhile, Punjab Health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Wednesday dared Shiromani Akali Dal to break its ties with the BJP if it is genuinely concerned about farmers' interests.
"If you are genuinely sympathetic towards the interests of farmers and Punjab, then immediately break the party's ties with the Modi government at the Centre," Sidhu told SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal.
The Shiromani Akali Dal is a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance.
Sidhu also accused Badal of adopting "double standards" over the issue of farm ordinances.
A "few minutes of utterance" of Sukhbir Badal in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday against the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill was "meaningless" as long as the SAD is a partner in the Modi government.
"The tragedy of the Akali Dal is that it wants to make its mark among farmers and at the same time, it also does not want to give up a ministry in the central government," said the minister in a statement here.
The minister alleged that the stand taken by Badal against the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha was a "new attempt to deceive" the people of Punjab.
Badal on Tuesday had voted against the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill in Parliament.
The Akali Dal has taken this step following "behind-the-scene agreement" with the BJP under which it was allowed to oppose these ordinances just to be able to "pretend as pro-farmer" and the saffron party would "ignore" its protests in the House, alleged Sidhu.
Sidhu said Badal's claim that Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal had expressed reservations against these ordinances was "totally wrong".
The entire leadership of the SAD including Sukhbir Singh Badal and Harsimrat Kaur Badal was strongly supporting the farm ordinances till two days ago, he said.
The new attempt of protest being taken by the Akali Dal now has come out of fear of public outcry against the agriculture ordinances in Punjab, he said.