Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday alleged farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal abused his position as leader of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) to strike an under the table deal with Union home minister Amit Shah with the sole intention of weakening the farmers’ agitation when it was at its peak.

Speaking to reporters after addressing a gathering in Dinanagar, the SAD president said farmers across the country had been stunned into disbelief after coming to know that Rajewal as well as a few other politically ambitious figures in the SKM were holding secret talks with the Union home minister behind their backs.

“The contents of the letter, which is now in the public domain, are even more shocking. They reveal that Rajewal and his close group were willing to sacrifice the welfare of the farmers and had even agreed to a partial rollback of the farm laws in direct contravention of the public stand of the Kisan Andolan (farmers agitation) that it would only agree to a complete rollback of the three black laws, ” he added.

Badal said the farming community was feeling betrayed that a person who had been given complete rights to negotiate on their behalf had tried to strike a deal with the central government despite knowing it was against the welfare of farmers. “Rajewal owes an explanation to the entire community for his conduct”, he added.

When questioned about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Punjab, Badal said people had high hopes from successive Prime Ministers that they would undo the injustice done to Punjab over the last several decades. “ I urge Mr. Modi to make a difference on January 5 by transferring Chandigarh to Punjab. Punjabi-speaking areas which were left out of the state at the time of its reorganisation in 1966 should be transferred back to it. Similarly, the riparian rights of the State over its river waters should also be bestowed to it,” he said.

Earlier when questioned about the coming together of the BJP with Captain Amarinder Singh’s Lok Congress Party and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa’s SAD(Sanyukt), Badal said, “Combining one non-entity with another doesn’t make any difference to the final product. Zero hundred times over is still a zero. Punjabis know their arithmetic. This alliance will not make any difference on State politics”.