Punjab land policy protests gain ground: Farm groups hold nukkad meetings, flag marches; BJP plans yatra
Activists of farm organisation BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) and members of other unions affiliated to Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) held rallies in villages to drum up support for their protest in Samrala, Ludhiana, on Aug 24.
Opposition parties are also taking on the AAP govt over the contentious policy. Farmers argued that the Punjab govt was not capable of collecting land on such a large scale with limited resources.
"State govt is eyeing industry and feels the agriculture sector is stagnating.
It feels the state could be taken towards prosperity by ensuring an industrial revolution, even though big industrial houses do not prefer Punjab. Farmers will not allow such designs of the govt. It wants to collect land by pulling Punjab away from agriculture, which is the mainstay of its economy, but we won't let it succeed," said BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) secretary Shingara Singh Mann.
Before the call for a rally on Aug 24, SKM gave another action plan of protest on Aug 13.
BJP has announced a 'Save Land, Save Farmers' yatra from Aug 17 to Sep 5, led by its state working president, Ashwani Sharma. The yatra will start from Patiala and pass through Malwa, Majha, and Doaba regions, and end in Pathankot on Sep 5.
Another farm group, Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), announced a state-level mahapanchayat at Kukkar Pind, Jalandhar, on Aug 20 against the policy. KMM functionaries Sarwan Singh Pandher and Manjit Singh Rai said KMM would organise a motorcycle rally on Aug 11. Kukkar Pind is among six villages in Jalandhar where 1,000 acres has been notified under the policy.
CM Bhagwant Mann has repeatedly said that land-pooling would be "100% voluntary" but anxiety over the scheme continues to grip farmers. AAL MLAs have been told to visit villages and dispel misgivings.
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