Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ally Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) announced on Saturday, 26 December, that it is leaving the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) over the Narendra Modi government's stand on the new farm laws and its handling of the ongoing farmers' protest.
The RLP is the second BJP ally to quit the NDA over the farm laws after the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) decided to leave the BJP-led front in September.
"I am not stuck with Fevicol with the NDA. Today, I separate myself from the NDA. We won't stand with anyone who is against farmers," RLP chief Hanuman Beniwal said, addressing protesters at the Shahjahanpur-Kheda border in Rajasthan. He promised to march to Delhi to protest against the new farm laws.
“I was stopped from entering the Lok Sabha with a fudged COVID-19 report. Had I been there, I would have thrown away the copy of the farm bills in the House,” Beniwal added.
Lok Sabha MP from Rajasthan's Nagaur, Beniwal, had launched the RLP in Rajasthan after quitting the BJP before the 2018 state polls, but the party decided to join the NDA ahead of the 2019 general elections.
Thousands of farmers from several states have been protesting near New Delhi for over a month, demanding that the Centre repeal the farm laws passed in September.
(With PTI inputs.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)