Latest news with #Delhi-dictated


Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Punjab Cong warns police commissioner against aiding ruling party
Times News Network Ludhiana: In a decisive and strongly worded statement, senior Congress leaders warned the police commissioner and district administration against "operating at the behest of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)." They said that they would have to face public and legal accountability for their actions. During a high-level meeting attended by senior Congress leaders, sitting and former MLAs, and constituency in-charges, it was unanimously resolved that misuse of police force, administrative pressure, and intimidation tactics by the local administration in Ludhiana West would not be tolerated. Congress leaders accused the police commissioner of acting more like a political agent of AAP than a neutral officer of the law. They said that repeated reports of selective targeting of Congress workers, planned surveillance and an atmosphere of fear in key polling areas were deeply alarming and unacceptable. "The commissioner and his team must remember that they are not employees of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Their loyalty is to the Constitution of India—not to Arvind Kejriwal or Bhagwant Mann," said a senior Congress leader. The leaders asserted that any officer "found complicit in manipulating the bypoll" would not be spared. The Congress will pursue every constitutional and legal route to hold such individuals accountable, now and after June 15, said the leaders. Congress leaders claimed that party candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu was being targeted because of his growing popularity with residents of Ludhiana West. They added that the VB notice was an act of desperation by a government facing impending defeat. The party also warned the administration that any interference on polling day would be met with a mass political and legal response. Congress workers are prepared and determined to defend every single vote and every voter from pressure and fear. "The Aam Aadmi Party should read the writing on the wall: Their time is up. People of Punjab have seen through their lies, their vendetta politics, and their Delhi-dictated arrogance," the statement concluded. MSID:: 121731113 413 |


Time of India
03-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
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. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo 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. " 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. MSID:: 121600536 413 |