Latest news with #ManjitSinghRai
Time of India
7 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
KMM reignites unity efforts, seeks meeting with SKM on Aug 26
Bathinda: Feeling the need for a united front to fight both state and central govts, the farmer forum, Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), has resumed efforts to bridge the bonds with the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha. In a letter to the SKM, the KMM has sought a meeting on Aug 26 to advance the unity efforts and jointly deal with the issues confronting the farming sector, including the legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP) and the land pooling policy of the state govt. Earlier, the KMM, then aligned with the SKM (Non-Political), had held unity talks with the SKM, but these remained inconclusive due to a lack of sincerity and complete faith in each other. Certain conditions set for unity were not met and no fruitful outcome was achieved. KMM leaders Sarvan Singh Pandher and Manjit Singh Rai said: "Both central and state govts are coming out with the anti-farmer and anti-people policies focused on providing benefits to corporates. Such onslaught cannot be resisted by fighting independently. We need a collective fight to stop the govts from taking anti-farmer and anti-people decisions. For this, we need to join hands. We have thus resumed the unity efforts and called the SKM for a meeting. " Though we fought a 13-month-long protest for the MSP at Shambhu and Khanauri borders along with the SKM (Non-Political), both forums continue to function independently. After the SKM, we will approach the SKM (Non-Political), Rai added. MSID:: 123076070 413 | Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Friendship Day wishes , messages and quotes !
Time of India
27-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Opposition to land pooling increases as support remains limited to AAP leadership
Jalandhar: If voices from Punjab's rural areas, especially among farmers and their organisations, are getting louder against land acquisition policy, voices in support of the policy are confined only to a section of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leadership. There are no organic voices yet from urban areas supporting the policy. Unlike the farm protest at Shambhu border, which led to the blockade of the vital National Highway 44 for close to a year, and where there were voices from trade, industry, and urban areas for lifting the blockade, there are no such voices from urban areas speaking in support of the land pooling scheme. The crackdown on the protest at the Shambhu border helped the ruling party get support from trade and industry sectors, and this became evident during the Ludhiana West byelection. Even when it comes to community, caste, social and economic levels, no section has yet started speaking out in support of the policy. There are quite a few videos that have been widely shared on Punjabi social media space, in which farmers have issued warnings to AAP supporters to face serious physical consequences if they come to their villages to explain the policy. BKU (Doaba) president Manjit Singh Rai, whose land is coming under the land pooling policy in Hoshiarpur district, publicly said he would not let anybody entering his land escape unscathed. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Up to 70% off | Shop Sale Libas Undo A similar warning has been given by farmers from villages near Jalandhar. With opposition to the policy now becoming 'political correctness' among farmers, AAP may face an uphill task in getting farmers who can publicly speak in support of the scheme. From the govt side, along with chief minister Bhagwant Mann, ministers Aman Arora, Harpal Cheema, Hardeep Singh Mundian, Sanjeev Arora, and MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer have defended the policy. A few office bearers have also given interviews to a few YouTube channels to defend the policy. However, most of the MLAs or constituency in-charges, whose constituencies have areas coming under the land pooling policy, have confined themselves to sharing the party's pro-policy statements or videos, instead of giving their own statements or going to the villages whose land is covered under the scheme. These were mainly the rural areas of Punjab which provided the greatest push to the urban-centric AAP in the 2014 parliamentart election, due to the peculiar political situation in the state. In the 2022 assembly elections, the party swept equally in rural and urban areas. Now, with farm groups, opposition parties, Punjabi activists, and netizens pushing the counter-narrative across rural Punjab, much beyond the villages whose land is coming under it, the task for AAP is getting tougher.
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Farmers oppose proposed land acquisition for new urban estates near Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar and Phagwara
Jalandhar: Farmers from villages near Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, and Phagwara are preparing to oppose the plan to acquire land under a land pooling scheme for developing new urban estates. The move comes just a day after farmers from Wadala Kalan village near Kapurthala submitted a memorandum to the Kapurthala deputy commissioner on Thursday against the proposal. A common refrain among farmers is that they would lose their livelihood if their land was acquired. Panchayats and farmers from villages of Purhiran and Shergarh in Hoshiarpur have even formed "Lok Ujara Roku Sangharash Committee" (Committee to Stop Uprooting of People). On Friday, they submitted a memorandum to the Hoshiarpur deputy commissioner and sent a representation to the Punjab chief minister and the governor. They highlighted the fertility of their land, which yields three crops a year. They pointed out the earlier acquisition of 410 acres of their land for the construction of a bypass has left them dependent on the remaining parcels. "If this land is also acquired, it would lead to the uprooting of the farmers. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Santa Monica: Scholarships You Can Apply For (Start Now) College Scholarship | Google Search Undo Families of these farmers settled here after facing uprooting during the Partition (from west Punjab), and now they would face another uprooting," the memorandum stated. They also warned of serious consequences if the state govt tried to take their land forcibly. "The committee was formed after a joint meeting at the gurdwara in Purheeran village, and now the fight to protect the farmers and their land will be pursued under its aegis," said BKU (Doaba) president Manjit Singh Rai. According to the advertisement issued by the state govt on June 6, 1,000 acres of land from six villages would be taken from villages on the outskirts of Jalandhar. These villages include Kukkar Pind, Kot Khurd, Kot Kalan, Rehmanpur, Alipur, and Nangal Krar Khan. "Small meetings have already been held, and a bigger one with representatives from the six villages will be held on Saturday. Until now, the common refrain among the villagers is not to give their land. As these villages are close to the city and some parts are on the main roads, the prices are already very high," said Kot Khurd sarpanch Balkaran Singh. "The issue has been discussed in informal discussions in the village, and people are opposed to the move. Land holdings are small, and people will lose their livelihood as they also rear cattle on these lands. Around 700 acres are from our village," said Sukhvir Singh, a village resident and block president of BKU (Doaba). On the outskirts of Phagwara, 200 acres of land from Bhullara village is proposed to be taken for the new urban estate. Sarpanch Rajat Bhanot, a member of the Aam Aadmi Party, said that from the informal discussions among the villagers, it was clear that the entire village was against the acquisition. "I am also a farmer, and most of the landowners are small farmers who don't have alternate means of livelihood. The state govt should not push the scheme," Bhanot said. Harbhajan Singh, former sarpanch of the same village, also said that they already announced their opposition to the move, and in the coming days, villagers would be gearing up further. MSID:: 121831380 413 | Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
