Khaira condemns Punjab AAP government's land pooling policy and alleges exploitation of farmers in Ludhiana.
Ludhiana: Congress legislator Sukhpal Singh Khaira has branded Punjab AAP govt's land-pooling policy a "sinister land grab" designed to benefit party leaders and cronies at the expense of farmers.
Khaira, who also chairs the All-India Kisan Congress, accused the Bhagwant Mann govt of attempting to acquire about 25,000 acres of fertile agricultural land in Ludhiana under the guise of urban development. "This is not development — it's daylight robbery of ancestral land from Punjab's farming community," he told reporters Tuesday.
He alleged that senior AAP figures had purchased land at throwaway prices in and around Ludhiana in anticipation of the project, using insider knowledge to make windfall profits.
"This is a calculated scheme to loot farmers while enriching the land mafia and politically connected elites," Khaira said. He pointed to the recent removal of Punjab housing minister Aman Arora from his portfolio as a tacit admission of wrongdoing, claiming the move was linked to alleged improprieties involving land acquisitions.
'Loss of livelihood feared'
The land-pooling scheme has faced mounting resistance from farmers across more than 40 Ludhiana villages, who fear the loss of their livelihoods and heritage.
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Khaira said the anxiety in rural communities was widespread and justified. "This policy threatens to erode Punjab's agricultural backbone. Once this land is lost to concrete and speculation, there's no going back," he said. "The state's food security, economy and rural fabric are at risk.
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Khaira further criticised the Mann government for failing to consult local panchayats or gram sabhas before rolling out the policy.
"No surveys were done, no permissions sought. This is not just undemocratic — it's exploitative," he said, referencing sentiments voiced at a recent BKU Dakaunda meeting where he joined protesting farmers.
Calling the scheme a "Delhi-dictated disaster," Khaira demanded an immediate rollback and a white paper revealing the real beneficiaries of the policy. "The people of Punjab deserve transparency, not backroom deals that reward the few and ruin the many," he said. The Congress MLA warned of intensifying opposition, including street protests and legal action, if the policy wasn't scrapped.
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