Friday, June 26, 2020

Punjab AAP Leaders Meet Sikh Farmers Facing Eviction in UP


AAP Leaders met Farmers in Bijnor

 To express solidarity with Punjabi farmers who were facing eviction in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, a delegation of Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) interacted with affected families and promised to highlight the issue.

Harpal Singh Cheema 


Punjab assembly leader of opposition (LoP) Harpal Singh Cheema told TOI that the farmers in Terai region were apprehensive that despite assurances, their land records had been changed, depriving them of their right to sell or lease out land.


“We met farmers in Nagina in Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh and Bazpur in Uttarakhand. BJP is trying to favour corporates by usurping the land of farmers. The land is Bajpur even has industrial units and the smaller ones belong to people originally from Punjab,” he said.


“The general sentiment among farmers is that injustice is being done to them. Farmers shifted there when others were reluctant to take up farming. They showed us marks of snake bites to prove how they struggled to contribute to the development of the areas back then. But now the state governments want to take over their land,” added Cheema.


AAP leaders claimed that statements being made by politicians rang hollow as farmers were up in arms against the move. “We will also support any agitation launched by the landowners. I will prepare a report on the ground situation and send it to the Prime Minister and chief ministers,” said Cheema.
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AAP MLA Kultar Singh Sandhwan

 
AAP MLA Kultar Singh Sandhwan who is also a part of the delegation, added the matter would be raised in Parliament through the party’s MP, Bhagwant Mann.

The chunks of land in question were allotted to the farmers by the kings of the times, adding that during the land consolidation in 1952, the farmers were registered as owners of the lands. However, in 1963, the farmers were declared as tillers as per the law. These farmers had been tilling these lands ever since.

Taking cognisance of reports of attempts by the Uttar Pradesh government to displace more than 30,000 Sikh farmers by taking over their arable land, Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh last week said he will take up the issue with his UP counterpart, Yogi Adityanath, and Union home minister Amit Shah.



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