Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Tuesday reiterated his strong opposition to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s land pooling policy, warning that it poses a serious threat to the state’s agrarian economy.
Speaking to mediapersons after addressing a meeting of constituency coordinators at the Punjab Congress headquarters, Warring alleged that the policy was designed merely to generate revenue, without consideration for its long-term impact on agriculture.
“Acquiring 24,000 acres of agricultural land will destabilise Punjab’s agricultural economy, which in turn will affect trade, industry, and every section of society,” he said. “If you weaken the foundation, the entire economic structure will collapse.”
The PCC chief criticised the government for not consulting stakeholders before pushing forward with the policy. He also questioned its necessity, asking whether there really was any need for this policy when there is no demand for residential or industrial plots anywhere. He pointed out, there are a large number of residential colonies set up by private builders with so many plots left unsold.
The same is the case with the residential apartments, he noted, while asking, when there is already abundance of the residential plots, where is the need to create more?
On internal party matters, Warring dismissed speculation about differences over the re-induction of former leaders into the Congress. “Every party likes to expand its base and strengthen itself and the more the people join the party, the better it is”, he said, while reacting to the joining of the leaders from various parties recently.
Addressing the upcoming Ludhiana West by-election, Warring expressed confidence that the Congress would secure a decisive victory. “We are far ahead of others and expect to win with a record margin,” he claimed.
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