Chandigarh: Punjab Congress MLA from Bholath and former Leader of the Opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira Monday said that he would be moving a private member’s bill in the forthcoming assembly session seeking enactment of a law that will ban non-Punjabis from buying agricultural land in the state.
Addressing a press conference, Khaira said he had met Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan this morning and handed him over the request for such a bill to be moved in the coming session of the assembly.
The law in Punjab should be enacted on the lines of the provisions in Section 118 of the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972 that bars non-Himachali and non-agriculturists to buy agricultural land in the hill state, he said.
“We are not against non-Punjabis coming into our state for employment opportunities but yes, we have an issue with them settling permanently in Punjab, becoming owners of agricultural land, becoming permanent voters etc., as it endangers our distinct identity,” Khaira said.
“I can say with authority that this trend if not nipped in the bud immediately, Punjabis, particularly the Sikhs, will be in a minority in their own motherland in the next 20-25 years,” he added.
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Top Sikh body made similar demand
Interestingly, a similar demand was put forth by the Jathedar of the Akal Takht, the highest temporal body of the Sikhs, during his speech on the last day of the three-day Shaheedi Jor Mela in Punjab’s Fatehgarh Sahib last month.
Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh had called for a complete ban on outsiders buying land in Punjab, while exhorting Sikh youth not to go abroad.
“You leave your houses and land here to work in foreign countries. People from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar will come and take hold of your lands. Punjab will become the land of tobacco and bidis. Outsiders should not be allowed to buy land in Punjab. The government needs to work on this,” he said.
Massive migration a concern
In a letter addressed to the Speaker, Khaira said that massive migration of Punjabis to other countries was changing the demographic contours of the state.
“As per rough estimates approximately one-sixth of Punjab’s total population of 2.75 crore, that is to say almost 50 lakh of our people, have migrated abroad. Unfortunately, this trend has further escalated during the last few years. Because of this trend, Punjab has not only lost its best educated, trained and skilled human resource, but it has also shattered the economy of our state,” he explained.
Apart from the negative financial impact due to the shift of population at such a large scale, the Congress MLA said, the demographic situation has also started to change drastically. The identity of Punjabis is under a severe threat as lakhs of non-Punjabis have started to reside permanently, he added.
“It was precisely because of this reason that states like Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan etc. in order to protect their identity and existence, passed laws to bar outsiders from buying agricultural land and becoming permanent residents of their states.”
Khaira met the Speaker along with Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa and Raja Sansi MLA Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria. “We had gone there together, but the issue which Khaira highlighted was in his personal capacity as a private member,” Bajwa told ThePrint.
Bajwa said that he impressed upon the Speaker to widen the scope of discussion during the Budget session and ensure adequate sittings of the House.
“I wish to reiterate the need for an announcement of the date of the sessions by the Government at least a month in advance as per the time-tested parliamentary convention to allow preparation time for the members to discuss Bills, reports of Punjab Vidhan Sabha Committees as also the Administrative Reports of different departments, and other issues of public importance,” Bajwa said in a press statement.
(Edited by Geethalakshmi Ramanathan)
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