Narendra Singh Tomar assumes Harsimrat Kaur Badal's portfolio as Akali Dal member quits

Tomar also holds the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

President Ram Nath Kovind has accepted the resignation of Badal.

Badal resigned from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet on Thursday over the Centre's take on farm sector bills.

Badal's Akali 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".

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.

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 farmers' concerns were heard too.