The Punjab Congress has announced a statewide protest against the AAP government’s land pooling policy, starting with a major dharna (protest) in Mohali on Monday.
Party leaders said the protest plan includes rallies across Punjab and village-level meetings in areas where the government plans to acquire land under the policy. This comes after a recent rally in Ludhiana, where nearly 24,000 acres of agricultural land are set to be acquired.
The ruling AAP has accused the Opposition of misleading farmers. AAP spokesperson Neel Garg said the party will reach out to farmers and villagers to explain the benefits of the policy and clarified that there will be no forcible acquisition.
The land pooling policy, launched in May this year, has drawn criticism from political parties and farmer groups. The government plans to acquire over 65,000 acres to develop new townships near various cities, including Ludhiana. According to the government, participation in the policy is voluntary, and farmers will receive developed plots of higher value in return.
However, the Congress, BJP, and SAD claim the policy is a way to take fertile land without proper compensation. They have accused the government of working with private developers and trying to make money through the acquisition process.
Punjab Congress president Amrinder Raja Warring said his party will hold protests wherever the government announces land acquisition. He claimed the policy is designed to bypass the 2013 Land Acquisition Act, which ensures farmers get 1.5 times the market value of their land along with rehabilitation and resettlement.
Warring alleged that the AAP government wants to grab land without paying compensation and sell it to private companies to fund its promises in the last year of its term. Congress leader Balbir Singh Sidhu said the party will demand a complete rollback of what they call an anti-farmer policy.
Top Congress leaders, including Warring, Partap Singh Bajwa, MPs, and MLAs, are expected to participate in the Mohali protest.
Meanwhile, the Congress has called a meeting in Amritsar to discuss candidates for the upcoming Tarn Taran Assembly bypoll, which was triggered by the death of AAP MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal. The Election Commission has yet to announce the poll schedule.
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