Jagraon: Rare political unity: Oppn, farm unions join hands to protest land pooling policy

Hindustan Times

18 hours ago

In a rare show of unity, leaders of all major political parties in opposition and prominent farmer organisations came together on one platform in Jagraon on Monday to oppose the Punjab government's land pooling policy. Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring added that while land acquisition has existed since British times, it was the Congress-led UPA government under Dr Manmohan Singh that brought a transformative law requiring 80% consent from landowners before any acquisition. (HT Photo)
The protest held at the local tehsil checkpoint, saw participation from senior Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal, and BJP leaders, along with several grassroots-level farmer leaders and activists.
Addressing the crowd, former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi launched a scathing attack on chief minister Bhagwant Mann, accusing him of handing over Punjab's agricultural land to outside forces.
'Before the elections, I warned people that the 'outsiders' do not care about Punjab. But no one listened. Today, we see the consequences,' Channi said.
He vowed that if Congress is voted back to power, reversing this policy would be their first decision. 'Every inch of land taken will be returned to the farmers,' he promised, calling upon all Punjabis to unite against the government's move.
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring added that while land acquisition has existed since British times, it was the Congress-led UPA government under Dr Manmohan Singh that brought a transformative law requiring 80% consent from landowners before any acquisition. 'Despite this protection, if the land is forcibly taken, we will not stay silent. The Congress will launch a full-scale agitation and will gherao the GLADA office in Ludhiana on July 14,' he announced.
MLA Sukhpal Khaira alleged that the CM has become a mere puppet in the hands of Delhi leadership. 'This is not just about land—it's a calculated strategy to erase Punjab's identity as an agriculture-based state. The land will be handed over to corporate mafias,' he said.
Voicing similar concerns, Akali leader and MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali, BJP's advocate Vikramjit Singh Sindhu, and former Akali MLA SR Kler stressed that the land pooling policy is a direct threat to the entire state. 'This is a fight for Punjab's future. If our land is lost, our economy will collapse. The CM is merely following orders from Delhi,' they claimed.
The protest was also addressed by several other leaders and representatives of various organisations including Congress general secretary Capt Sandeep Sandhu, Didar Singh Malak and Gurvinder Singh Panna from the Land Pooling Policy Sangharsh Committee, former MLAs Tarsam Jadha and Kamaljit Singh Brar, former Congress district president Karanjit Soni Ghalib, former chairman Satinderpal Singh Kaka Gurwal, Kamaljit Singh Mallah, engineer Jagdeep Singh, and farmer leaders Mahinder Singh Kamalpura, Jagtar Singh Daharka, Gurdial Singh Talwandi, among others.
Government's position
The Punjab cabinet had last month given its nod to the land pooling policy and asserted that not even a single yard will be forcibly acquired from land owners. Under the land pooling policy, a land owner will be given 1,000 square yards of residential plot and 200 square yards of commercial plot in fully developed land in lieu of one acre of land, the state government had said earlier.
The government had also said that the land pooling policy was designed to foster transparent and planned urban development across the state.