No non-Punjabi be allowed to purchase land, become voter without fulfilling conditions- Khaira urged Speaker to introduce legislation
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ August 28,2024
The congress leader and MLA Bholath Sukhpal Singh Khaira has once again urged Speaker Punjab Vidhan Sabha to introduce legislation like the HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act 1972 according to which no non-Punjabi should be allowed to purchase land or become a voter without fulfilling conditions as per the above said law.
He shared a letter already sent to Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Speaker, Vidhan Sabha, Punjab. The letter is :
To,
Sh. Kultar Singh Sandhwan,
Speaker, Vidhan Sabha,
Punjab.
Subject :- Request status intimation about the Private Member’s Bill submitted by me in person alongwithLoP on 23.1.2023, requesting you to introduce a law in Punjab, to restrict/ban purchase of agricultural land by non-Punjabi’s in order to protect the identity and demographic situation of Punjab, as done by the HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act 1972.
Mr. Speaker,
I am sure you will vividly recollect that myself accompanied by S. Partap Singh Bajwa LoP visited your office at Vidhan Sabha Chandigarh on 23.1.2023, to personally submit the above stated Private Member’s Bill.
Mr. Speaker, there is an immediate need to introduce the above legislation, as the demographic situation of Punjab is changing for the worst very quickly and the day may not be far when Punjabi’s will become a helpless minority in their own home state. As you are aware, the youth of Punjab started migrating to various parts of the world in search of better living opportunities many decades ago. The unabated migration has resulted in almost 60-70 lac Punjabi’s of the total approx. 3 crore population settling in different parts of the world.
As a result of this massive migration, we have not only lost our best human resource and workforce but in the process we have also lost hundreds and thousands of crores of our economy to foreign shores. So this is a perfect case of “brain drain & economy drain”.
Mr. Speaker, since there is no legislation at present in Punjab, there has been a massive unchecked inflow of non-Punjabi’s into Punjab for the last few decades. Slow by slow this non-Punjabi population started to settle down permanently in Punjab to become land owners and permanent voters of Punjab. At present there is no record with the government of Punjab as to how much non-Punjabi population has permanently settled in Punjab district wise. I am of the firm opinion, that almost the same number of Punjabi’s who left Punjab(i.e. 60-70 lacs) has accounted for Non-Punjabi’s settling permanently in Punjab.
Mr. Speaker, the immediate negative effect of Punjab having no law to restrict Non-Punjabi’s is the landing of government jobs to Non-Punjabi’s, as there is no clause of Punjabi domicile while making government appointments.
Mr. Speaker, I heard our CM Bhagwant Mann making a comment on this issue recently that this law is not needed as our children too are migrating and working in countries like USA, Canada etc. This is exactly I want to emphasize that no country in the world allows permanent settlement of any origin, without fulfilling certain conditions to obtain work permit, permanent residence, green card etc.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to debunk a vicious propaganda launched against me that I am raking up an issue which is anti national in nature. I want to reiterate that I respect all Non-Punjabi’s coming into Punjab to seek employment and earn livelihood, all I am suggesting is that there should be a law like HP and other states I have quoted, according to which the person or persons seeking permanent residence and voting rights should clear the conditions as per law. What is wrong in my argument? If despite being logical and protecting the identity of Punjab is being anti national, then I am sure the governments of Gujarat, HP, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand are anti national too!
Mr. Speaker, I also want to bring to your notice that not only Himachal Pradesh but earlier Gujarat, Rajasthan and now even Uttarakhand also have a similar law, where no outsider other than their state can buy agricultural land nor become a voter there. I fail to understand why our elected MLA’s are unable to understand the importance of the above said law. I wish to warn you and the people of Punjab at large that if we do not introduce this legislation at the earliest, we will loose our identity, our language and our culture, in other words Punjab and Punjabiat are in extreme danger.
Mr. Speaker, therefore through this letter I urge you to clarify why are you withholding my above said bill for the last more than 20 months now? Is there any political pressure on you from your bosses in Delhi? If not I urge you to introduce the bill in the upcoming Vidhan Sabha session beginning 2nd September 2024. I am eagerly awaiting your reply.
Thanking you,
Sukhpal Singh Khaira,
MLA Bholath
Former Leader of Opposition,
Chairman, All India Kissan Congress
