S.A.S. Nagar- Progressive Front Punjab and CPI(M) have demanded that the Land Pooling Scheme of Punjab be immediately scrapped and the alleged illegal colonies in the state be regularized and restrictions imposed on property registration within the red lines of villages and in these colonies be removed.
Talking to reporters at the Front head office, CPI(M) State Secretary Comrade Sukhwinder Singh Sekhon said that his party was trying to form a joint front with all the political parties of Punjab to get the Land Pooling Scheme scrapped and this front could come into existence soon.
He alleged that the government of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann wanted to snatch land from the farmers and residents of Punjab and hand it over to the capitalists and the party funds were being collected from these rich people. He said there was no demand for housing in Punjab, and if new construction was required, cities should be built on barren and unused lands.
He further alleged that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann had decided to give water from Punjab rivers to Delhi and Haryana on the instructions of AAP chief and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, which the CPI(M) and all Punjabis unitedly would never allow to happen.
He said the law and order situation in the state had deteriorated as police stations and outposts were not staffed, and the entire police force was deployed with the Chief Minister, ministers and MLAs. The Chief Minister has around 1,200 personnel for security, which is equal to the police strength of two districts of Punjab. Besides, a large number of police personnel were also deployed with Bhagwant Mann's relatives.
Speaking on corruption, he demanded that a high-level inquiry should be conducted into how some AAP MLAs and ministers were acquiring properties worth crores of rupees. He alleged that bribery rates are increasing in Punjab, and from the Chief Minister's Office to the Municipal Corporations, chairpersons are being appointed by persons from Delhi, which has never happened before in the history of Punjab.
Speaking on the issue, Front Chairman, Advocate Darshan Singh Dhaliwal said that the government is committing injustice and cheating the poor people by stopping property registration in the alleged illegal colonies, where around 1.9 crore people live. He called upon all political parties, social, religious, farmers, labourers and all other organizations of the state to unite and start fighting for justice for Punjabis.
He alleged that the government has imposed these restrictions in connivance with big builders and wealthy individuals so that corporate plots and flats can be sold quickly, which can be used to fund elections. He mentioned that revenue officials are not registering properties within the red lines of villages, while the government has not imposed any ban on this.
He said that the bureaucratic machinery of the state has gone out of the control of the government and is working contrary to its instructions and laws, which is injustice to the people of Punjab. He informed that in the last two years, Front officials have sent dozens of registered letters to the Chief Minister and Chief Secretary, but did not receive any reply.
He claimed that the bureaucracy is working on the policy of defaming the present government in the public, but the Chief Minister and party officials are unable to understand it.
Front President Harminder Singh Mavi said that the condition of roads in Mohali constituency is very bad, and the present government has not bothered to fill even a single pothole. Due to broken roads, people are living a hellish life in villages and cities. He said that the present government has taken a loan of Rs 4 lakh crore, which is equal to the total debt of all the previous governments.
Others present on the occasion included Front General Secretary Mahinder Singh Manauli Surat, Advisor Rajneesh Khanna, Treasurer Advocate Rohit Kumar, Advocate Bhupinder Singh and others.