New Delhi, December 3: Parkash Singh Badal, former Punjab chief minister and president of Shiromani Akali Dal, announced on Thursday that he was returning his Padma Vibhushan award to protest against the "betrayal of farmers" by the central government. The mark of protest by Badal comes amid an escalated row over the recently enacted farm reform laws by the Centre.

Badal, 92, is the senior-most politician of Punjab and has served as the chief minister for five terms. His party, SAD, was one of the oldest allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but decided to snap the ties following the passage of the agriculture reform laws in September-end. Farm Unions Reject Centre's Offer to Form Committee For Discussion Over Agriculture Laws.

The Akali Dal has been leading the agitation in several parts of Punjab, along with other political parties of the state. They have also extended complete support to the 30 agrarian unions of the state who led the march to Delhi are currently holding a demonstration at the national capital borders.

While Akalis have left the BJP-led NDA, the saffron coalition is facing pressure from allies in Haryana and Rajasthan. In the latter, lawmaker Hanuman Beniwal's Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) has threatened to quit the alliance if the farm laws are not repealed at the earliest.

In Haryana, the Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) has demanded the BJP-led central government to amend the farm laws to include a guarantee on minimum support prices (MSP).

The Centre, which has defended the farm Bills so far, calls the legislations as a path-breaking move to increase farmers' income. The laws will allow the farmers to sell their produce directly to the private players.

The farmer unions, however, have alleged a ploy claiming that the laws will dismantle the procurement system through Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMC), thereby weakening the MSP regime.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 03, 2020 01:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).