‘Not the alliance envisioned by Vajpayee,’ says Harsimrat Badal after Akali Dal quits NDA

Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Saturday said that the National Democratic Alliance was no more the coalition envisioned by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Her remark came after the Akalis quit the BJP-led alliance amid differences over the recent farm bills.

“If the pain and protests of 3 crore Punjabis fail to melt the rigid stance of GoI [the government of India], it’s no longer the the NDA [National Democratic Alliance] envisioned by Vajpayee ji and Badal sahab [Parkash Singh Badal],” she said in a tweet. “An alliance that turns a deaf ear to its oldest ally and a blind eye to pleas of those who feed the nation is no longer in the interest of Pb [Punjab].”