Won’t let govt acquire inch of farmers’ land, vows Sukhbir
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday appealed to village panchayats affected by the state government’s land pooling policy to pass resolutions against it as he vowed not to let an “inch of farmland” be acquired under the initiative.
Addressing a dharna attended by scores of party workers outside the Mini Secretariat, Sukhbir Badal also alleged that the scheme had been launched to transfer swaths of agricultural land to builders, who were “in league with AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal”.
The SAD president also declared that his party would intensify the agitation by holding weekly dharnas, beginning with such protests on July 28 in Mohali and on August 4 in Bathinda.
The remarks have come amid renewed focus on the government’s flagship plan, with a series of protests by Opposition parties and farmer bodies lined up in days to come.
Last week, all Opposition parties had extended their support to farmer bodies who are set to launch a statewide agitation against the policy, which the government maintains would spur urban development.
The government has decided to acquire over 65,000 acres under it across the state, with 45,000 acres located in Ludhiana alone.
The scheme faced criticism as the Opposition has accused the government of colluding with developers to deprive farmers of their fertile land. They alleged that it would result in large-scale corruption, with ruling AAP leaders making money out of the acquisition process.
Targeting the state’s AAP government, Sukhbir said it decided to acquire the land under the archaic State Land Acquisition Act, 1995 instead of the Central Land Acquisition Act, 2013.
He said the 1995 law allowed excluding land parcels from acquisition and lease out or auction properties as per wishes of the ruling party. “This will open doors of corruption and allow select parcels to be excluded from auction at whims and fancies of the government. In contrast, the Central Land Acquisition Act, 2013 calls for giving compensation at four times the collector rates besides a resettlement scheme,” he said.
Sukhbir said the move to acquire land through the 1995 law had not approved by the state Assembly, making it illegal and unconstitutional.
He said small farmers would be biggest losers in the entire process. “Farmers will not be allowed to sell their land, take loan on it or undertake change of land use once the notification for acquisition is issued,” he added.
The SAD president also spoke on the 2015 desecration incidents, alleging that these started only after the advent of AAP in the state politics in 2014.
He claimed that the issue was used to defame the SAD by both AAP and the Congress to stop the Akali juggernaut, which would have otherwise swept the 2017 Assembly poll.
He alleged that both parties did not allow a state probe into the cases and demanded that they be handed over to the CBI. “We transferred the cases to the CBI, from which these were again taken back by the Congress government. Since then, only politics has been done on this sensitive issue by both AAP and the Congress while the culprits roam free,” Sukhbir said.
He said in stark contrast, the SAD regime had got to the bottom of both Moga and Malerkotla sacrilege cases, ensuring conviction in both cases.
Punjab