Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigns from Modi Cabinet over bills for farmers

Badal's Akal Dal on Thursday faced protests from farmers over the party's initial support to ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regarding these bills.

The Union Minister, who was a supporter of the bill in the cabinet meeting that cleared the same, resigned shortly before the voting on them started in the Lok Sabha.

Her husband and party chief Sukhbir Badal said the Akalis will continue to support the Modi government from outside but oppose "anti-farmer policies".

"I have resigned from Union Cabinet in protest against anti-farmer ordinances and legislation. Proud to stand with farmers as their daughter & sister," Harsimrat Kaur Badal tweeted.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said Harsimrat Kaur's resignation from the Union Cabinet was "too little too late".

"Harsimrat Kaur’s decision to quit Union Cabinet is another in the long chain of theatrics being enacted by @Akali_Dal_ which has still not quit ruling coalition. It's motivated not by any concern for farmers but to save their own dwindling political fortunes. Too little too late," he said.

The bills have left the farmers of Punjab and Haryana upset despite the BJP's claims that these will bring reform in the agriculture sector.

The government said the bills, which would replace the three ordinances issued in June, will help farmers across the country get a better market and price for their products.

However, the same resulted is massive protests by the farmers for weeks now.

The Akali Dal, which initially supported the laws, made a U-turn this week after understanding the intensity of the farmers' resentment.

They had even appealed to the Centre to hold off the bills until the famrers' concerns were heard to.

However, the BJP government decided to proceed with the voting and therefore the Akalis announced to withdraw support and vote against the bills in Parliament on Thursday.