The SAD and the BJP on Thursday opposed the state’s revised land pooling policy, terming it “anti-farmer”.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal vowed to launch a mass agitation against the move.
Addressing a gathering in Jalalabad, he alleged that “a fresh land grab was being planned by the AAP government” through its revised policy.
Sukhbir claimed that farmers were being offered only an additional 10 yards of developed land compared with the earlier policy.
“With the elections drawing near, Kejriwal and his associates are under immense pressure to reward their political funders,” he alleged while canvassing for the Jalalabad municipal council elections scheduled for July 5.
Sukhbir addressed five public gatherings covering all 17 wards.
Meanwhile, Punjab BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon termed the policy “anti-farmer”. Dhillon alleged that the state’s AAP government was “being run through remote control from Delhi” and its objective was to grab farmers’ land instead of developing Punjab.
He asked whether commercial or residential plots could ever sustain a household. “These plots cannot provide sustenance to farmers’ families,” he said. He said when the government introduced the policy last year, Punjab’s farmers had strongly opposed it. “This is not a policy for development. Rather, it is a well-planned conspiracy by Arvind Kejriwal and his party to exploit Punjab, uproot farmers and seize control of their land,” he said.
