The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Punjab unit on Thursday announced a state-wide yatra titled ‘Save Land, Save Farmers’, from August 17 to September 5.
The yatra will kick off on August 17 from Patiala, and pass through villages in Malwa, Majha, and Doaba regions before culminating in Pathankot on September 5.
This announcement was made by BJP’s state vice president, Kewal Singh Dhillon, during a press conference held at the party’s Punjab headquarters.
He was accompanied by state general secretaries Anil Sareen, Rakesh Rathore, Dayal Singh Sodhi and party spokesperson Pritpal Singh Baliawal.
Dhillon stated that during this yatra, the Punjab BJP will go village-to-village, creating awareness among farmers against this scheme and mobilising them.
The BJP leaders condemned the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government. “Through the land pooling scheme, the government seeks to hand over farmers’ land to mafias, which is completely unacceptable,” Sareen said.
HC has raised valid questions against land-pooling: Bajwa
The leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Punjab assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, said that the high court has rightly asked for the social and environmental impact assessments for implementing the land pooling policy.
“This scheme was an outright violation of the Land Acquisition Act. This policy’s purpose was to circumvent social and environmental impact assessments, enabling the government to seize farmers’ land and threaten the very foundation of our agrarian economy,” Bajwa said. Bajwa said that the high court recognised the serious challenges faced not only by farmers but also by landless labourers who rely on agricultural work, emphasising that the government had provided no rehabilitation plans for them.
{{/usCountry}}“This scheme was an outright violation of the Land Acquisition Act. This policy’s purpose was to circumvent social and environmental impact assessments, enabling the government to seize farmers’ land and threaten the very foundation of our agrarian economy,” Bajwa said. Bajwa said that the high court recognised the serious challenges faced not only by farmers but also by landless labourers who rely on agricultural work, emphasising that the government had provided no rehabilitation plans for them.
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