Is BJP Ready to Launch a Village-to-Village Protest Against Punjab’s Land Pooling Scheme Starting August 17?

Chandigarh, Aug 6 (NationPress) Intensifying its struggle against the anti-farmer land pooling scheme implemented by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, the BJP has declared a state-wide initiative titled “Save Land, Save Farmers”, set to commence from August 17 and continue until September 5.

This movement will be spearheaded by the party's state working President, Ashwani Sharma.

The announcement was officially made by the party's state Vice-President, Kewal Singh Dhillon. He mentioned that during this extensive yatra, the BJP will engage with farmers across villages to raise awareness about the detrimental scheme and to mobilize support.

Activists will connect with farmers who are grappling with the implications of the scheme. The procession is slated to begin on August 17 from Patiala, traversing through villages in the Malwa, Majha, and Doaba regions, ultimately concluding in Pathankot on September 5.

BJP leaders have condemned the Bhagwant Mann government, stating that it has initiated an attack on farmers' land.

Through this land pooling scheme, the government is allegedly attempting to transfer farmers' lands to land mafias through covert methods, which the BJP finds utterly unacceptable.

“The BJP stands unwaveringly with the farmers. Until the AAP government retracts this land pooling policy, we will persist in our fight alongside the farmers,” the party affirmed.

The national General Secretary of the BJP, Tarun Chugh, called for the immediate repeal of the land pooling scheme.

He stressed that the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is determined to protect farmers, stating that any state-sponsored conspiracy to appropriate farmers' land under the guise of development for real estate interests will not be tolerated.

Chugh remarked, “This is not a policy; it’s a betrayal. Farmers are aware that this scheme is merely a governmental tool to seize their ancestral lands. Let the Mann government be clear: we will not allow them to take even a fraction of Punjab’s farmland.”

He accused the Mann government of acting as intermediaries for real estate mafias, betraying the very farmers who sought change but instead encountered disillusionment.

Conversely, state Finance Minister Harpal Cheema clarified that the land pooling scheme is favorable to farmers and is based on mutual agreement.

“No farmer will have even a single inch of land forcibly acquired. The decision to provide land rests entirely with the farmers,” Minister Cheema asserted to the media.