India News | Punjab: Bajwa Demands Extension of Assembly Session to Discuss Law and Order, Land Pooling Scheme

Chandigarh, Jul 9 (PTI) Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa on Tuesday wrote to Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan seeking extension of the upcoming special session by two days to discuss the issues of "deteriorating" law and order in the state and the land pooling scheme announced by the AAP government.

The state government has convened a two-day special session starting July 10.

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In his letter to the Assembly Speaker, Bajwa claimed that the law and order in the state has been deteriorating and drew his attention to cases of extortion, threat calls to businessmen, robbery and murder.

"A surge in daylight murders, armed robberies, gang wars, and targeted extortion-related killings has left citizens gripped by fear and uncertainty.

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"These aren't isolated events - they mark a growing breakdown of public order, where criminal elements operate with bold impunity and law-abiding citizens are increasingly caught in the crossfire of violence," alleged Bajwa.

The brazenness of these acts executed in broad daylight and in crowded public spaces signals not merely a lapse in law enforcement but an erosion of the very sense of safety that underpins civil society, he alleged.

"When families no longer feel secure walking their streets, when businesses operate under constant threat, and when fear replaces faith in governance, the democratic fabric itself begins to fray," he said.

"This is not just a law-and-order problem, it is a societal emergency. The current trajectory, if left unaddressed, will deepen public disillusionment and incubate a culture of silence.

"What is at stake is the collective future: a generation growing up amidst normalised violence and institutional apathy," he alleged.

Later during the media interaction, Bajwa cited the murder of Abohar businessman Sanjay Verma by three assailants on Monday and also doctor Aniljit Kambhoj being shot at in Moga.

"The police have completely failed. Such incidents are taking place every day," he alleged.

Referring to the AAP government's land pooling scheme, Bajwa alleged that the Bhagwant Mann government intended to "loot" farmers' land.

Under the land pooling policy, a land owner will be given a 1,000 square yard residential plot and a 200 square yard commercial plot in fully developed land in exchange for one acre of land, the state government had earlier.

"We will not allow any loot of the land," said Bajwa, adding that farmers too are opposing the land pooling scheme.

"Law and order and land pooling scheme will be our two biggest issues during the session," Bajwa told reporters.

In his letter to Sandhwan, Bajwa wrote, "The state government's land pooling policy appears less as an instrument of equitable development and more as a calculated perception-building exercise.

"By sidestepping the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, it undermines the legally vested rights of landowners passed by the Manmohan Singh-led Congress government."

He claimed that Punjab's farming communities see the initiative as a "veiled mechanism for large-scale resource capture" at their expense.

"Far from addressing core issues such as unemployment, agrarian distress or ecological fragility, the policy advances a narrative of progress while quietly displacing farmers from their ancestral lands," he wrote.

There is palpable fear that this initiative - marketed as a blueprint for better living conditions - sidesteps principles of informed consent and environmental responsibility, Bajwa said.

"Therefore, it is imperative that the House scrutinise the motivations and mechanics of this policy through unflinching debate, lest it erode public trust and deepen rural alienation under the guise of reform," he said.

The Punjab Cabinet last month gave its nod to the land pooling policy, while asserting that not even a single yard will be forcibly acquired from land owners.

It had also said the land pooling policy was designed to foster transparent and planned urban development across the state.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)