Sukhminderpal Singh Grewal, National Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party Kisan Morcha, In-charge Himachal Pradesh meets Gujarat Chief Minister and PM in waiting Narendra Modi at Gandhi Nagar on Monday.
Gandhi Nagar, September 16, 2013: Sukhminderpal Singh Grewal, National Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party Kisan Morcha, In-charge Himachal Pradesh has said the Congress was once again playing dirty communal politics in the name of raising issue of Sikh farmers in Gujarat.
Talking to the mediapersons after a meeting with Gujarat Chief Minister and PM in waiting Narendra Modi here today, Grewal added Congress was once again hatching conspiracy to fan communal feelings in the name of raising issue of Sikh farmers of Punjab and Haryana in Gujarat by hiding the real facts and figures behind it.
Grewal said since it was the Congress chief minister Ghanshayam Bhai Ojha in Gujarat, who introduced the clause in 1973 that had rendered Sikh farmers non-agriculturist in Gujarat, the Punjab Congress party definitely owe an explanatory statement to the nation people of Punjab and Haryana in particular.
He said that the issue was not only of the farmers of Haryana and Punjab in Gujarat, albeit of all farmers who were not from Gujarat state.
With the facts and figures Grewal said that in 1973 the government under chief minister Ghanshayam Bhai Ojha, issued a circular stating that if a farmer from outside the state Gujarat, for example a farmer from Punjab or any other state, buys a land in Gujarat he is declared a non agriculturist. The circular applies to any out of the state agriculturist and not only on Sikhs or minorities. Around 784 cases of violation were found by the Kutch district administration in which 164 cases were related from Punjab and Haryana state, 108 cases belonged to the individuals Gujarati and 512 cases belonged to farmers from states other than of Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana.
Grewal said that Instead of taking up cases of all the affected farmers, Congress was raising the issue the Sikh farmers of Punjab and Haryana only. Sadly enough, the Punjab Congress was ill equipped in the terms of information and did not have enough ammunition left to keep itself thriving. Jumping on the controversy bandwagon, Punjab Congress has started this malicious campaign without doing its homework.
Grewal stated that Gujarat CM Narendra Modi was committed to safeguard the cause of all farmers and has already assured the Punjab CM Prakash Singh Badal, State President BJP Punjab Kamal Sharma and OP Dhankar National President BJP Kisan Morcha that a lawful solution was being found for the problem.
He said that Narendra Modi has assured them that no farmer would face any difficulty. According to 2001 census survey 45,875 Sikhs were living peacefully and harmoniously in Gujarat.