BJP joins ranks with farmers in protest against land pooling policy

Come Friday and Punjab’s governmental cookware volition beryllium stirred again. As husbandman unions successful the authorities statesman protests against the onshore pooling strategy of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, this protestation is expected to redraw the governmental lines successful the state.

On Friday, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has invited representatives of each governmental parties to explicate their stance connected the onshore pooling policy, which they comprehend volition crook them from “landlords to landless”.

Along with different governmental parties, the BJP, too, has been asked to travel for the meeting. In akin meetings convened by the SKM during the people of the 2020-21 husbandman protests, BJP leaders were not invited.

As the play of protests restarts successful the state, not lone are the husbandman unions engaging themselves successful protests organised by civilian rights groups, but due to the fact that of these groups and the origin they espouse, astatine galore places, the BJP leaders person begun to articulation these husbandman leaders successful protestation against the authorities of the day.

Punjab BJP President Sunil Jakhar said since the Congress had failed to play the relation of Opposition, reluctantly protesting against onshore pooling, and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) taking up the substance lone aft the BJP did so, the radical of Punjab person started looking astatine the BJP arsenic the lone 1 lasting up to the AAP government. It is the contented of their lands being taken distant and the BJP enactment choosing to broadside by them that seems to beryllium melting hearts, helium added.

If the 3 workplace laws, brought by the Centre successful 2020, had drawn the governmental lines successful this agrarian state, giving the BJP a large stroke successful agrarian areas, the onshore pooling strategy introduced past month, is redrawing these lines, with the BJP being portion of the protests this clip circular and the AAP being astatine the receiving end.

In 2022, the AAP had stormed to powerfulness with an overwhelming majority, acknowledgment to the tacit enactment of immoderate husbandman unions, particularly successful the Malwa region.

During the agitation against the onshore pooling argumentation successful Ludhiana, organised nether the aegis of the Zameen Bachao Sangharsh Committee, 2 BJP leaders, Gurdev Sharma Debi and Balkar Singh Sidhu, person already addressed farmers’ gatherings astir Ludhiana. Though leaders of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, who are opposed to the BJP, disregard this arsenic a one-off incident, the saffron enactment leaders’ sightings astatine galore protests organised by husbandman unions, on with different civilian rights groups, has raised much than a fewer eyebrows. This, particularly aft 5 years of the BJP being considered a governmental pariah successful the state.

In different protestation astatine Goniana Mandi recently, against the alleged custodial decease of a Bathinda man, a erstwhile BJP MLA shared the signifier with husbandman national leaders. In Ferozepur, aft a sarpanch committed suicide, it was the BJP that archetypal took up the substance for the household of the deceased, accusing a elder AAP person of abetting the suicide. Leaders of Kirti Kisan Union and BJP were seen protesting and demanding justness for the victim. “The household of the unfortunate wanted the BJP person to code the gathering, and we did not protest. But we inactive consciousness that the BJP is lone raising issues similar onshore pooling for governmental gains,” says Kirti Kisan Union person Rajinder Singh Deepsinghwala.