Tarun Chugh slams Punjab Govt over land pooling scheme, demands immediate withdrawal

Ludhiana, Jun 13: BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh strongly criticised the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government on Friday, accusing it of implementing unconstitutional and anti-farmer policies, particularly the controversial land pooling scheme. Campaigning in the Ludhiana East Assembly segment, Chugh demanded that the land pooling policy be scrapped without delay. During his visit, Chugh met with delegations from 37 villages reportedly impacted by the land pooling initiative. Farmers submitted a detailed memorandum highlighting their concerns and seeking urgent intervention to safeguard their land rights.

According to Chugh, over 24,000 acres of farmland across these villages have been brought under the scheme, which he described as a systematic move towards forced urbanisation. He alleged that instead of providing fair compensation, the government is returning only a portion of the acquired land to the farmers, leaving them vulnerable to market fluctuations and speculative real estate buyers.

He further raised concerns over unsold urban land across Punjab, claiming that more than 20% remains unutilised due to flawed planning. Chugh questioned the viability of new urbanisation drives when existing land remains underutilised, especially in a state where over 80% of landholders are small and marginal farmers.

Chugh also accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of failing to fulfil pre-election promises such as farm loan waivers and minimum support price (MSP) top-ups. He alleged that not a single loan has been waived, nor has any crop received additional price support since the AAP came to power in 2022. The BJP leader criticised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for what he called misplaced priorities, accusing him of focusing more on protecting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his associates than addressing the agrarian distress in Punjab.

The campaign programme was organised by senior BJP leader Vikram Sidhhu in the Ludhiana West constituency, where by-elections are scheduled for June 19. The event witnessed significant participation from farmers and residents of the affected villages. Chugh urged voters to support BJP candidate Jeevan Gupta in the upcoming by-poll, claiming that people across Ludhiana and Punjab are disillusioned with both AAP and Congress and are ready to back Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP in 2027.