Rashtriya Loktantrik Party quits NDA in support of protesting farmers

The Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, a BJP ally in Rajasthan, declared its exit from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) over the contentious farm laws.

Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) president Hanuman Beniwal said, “I announce that I am leaving the NDA. I am breaking away.”

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“We won’t stand with anyone who are against farmers,” Beniwal, a Lok Sabha MP from Rajasthan’s Nagaur, said, addressing protesters at the Shahjahanpur-Kheda border in Rajasthan’s Alwar district.

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The RLP is the second BJP partner to quit NDA after the Akali Dal over the farm laws.

On his decision to quit NDA, Beniwal alleged that his Covid-19 test report was “fudged” to keep him out of Parliament. “The farm laws were brought in my absence. If I was present in the Lok Sabha when the farm laws were brought, I would have torn them apart and thrown them away,” Beniwal said.