Mohali: SAD protests land pooling policy, calls it ‘anti-farmer'
Addressing the gathering, Badal alleged that the scale of 'land loot' being carried out by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government at the behest of its 'Delhi masters' is unprecedented in Punjab's history. 'There is no development rationale behind this move. Even the 2,000 acres acquired earlier for the Aerotropolis project in Mohali remain unused, yet the government is now moving to seize another 3,535 acres,' he claimed.
Reiterating his party's stand, Badal said SAD would not allow the Punjab government to 'grab even an inch of farmers' land without their consent'. 'I am ready to make any sacrifice, but we will never permit land to be taken forcefully,' he added.
Badal alleged that the state government had stripped farmers of their fundamental right to obtain Change of Land Use (CLU) permissions, even for land not formally acquired. 'There is no precedent for such sweeping deprivation of rights. Tehsildars have already issued orders banning CLU in these areas,' he added.
Drawing a contrast with the AAP's approach, Badal highlighted that the SAD government under late Parkash Singh Badal had implemented land acquisition policies only after consulting farmers. 'Our committee, which included local sarpanches, ensured land rates reflected prevailing market values,' he said.
SAD leader Shamlal Chaudhary echoed the sentiment, calling the policy a 'subtle ploy' by the AAP government to loot the farming community. 'This is not land pooling, it's land looting,' he said, questioning, 'Who will part with one acre of prime land for just a thousand yards in return?'
Several senior SAD leaders, including Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, NK Sharma, Hira Singh Gabria, Parminder Singh Sohana, Gurpreet Singh Raju Khanna, Sarabjit Singh Jhinjar, Sohan Singh Thandal, Darbara Singh Guru, Arshdeep Kler, Ranbir Singh SOI, Gulzari Moonak, Kuldeep Kaur Kang, Charanjit Singh Kalewal, Baljit Singh Bhutta, Ravinder Khera, and Jasbir Kaur, also addressed the gathering.
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