Modi failed to address Gujarat Sikh issue: Cong

Monday, 24/02/2014

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Chandigarh: The Punjab Congress, on Sunday, accused Narendra Modi of failing to address the issue of Sikh farmers living in Gujarat’s Kutch region as they face eviction from their farm land.

Punjab Congress Chief Partap Singh Bajwa said the Sikh farmers had high hopes that Modi during his Punjab visit would make an announcement of withdrawal of the plea his government had filed in the Supreme Court contesting the stay granted by the Gujarat High Court to the Sikh farmers. Modi at Jagraon rally said that no Sikh farmer would be displaced from Kutch, but he did not make any commitment to withdraw the plea, Bajwa said in a statement here. It was shameful that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was not able to convince Modi to withdraw the plea from the Supreme Court, he said.

He alleged that the Modi government had ordered Sikh farmers to leave Gujarat and their land holdings were frozen after they were declared non-agriculturists on account of a interpretation of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Land (Vidarbha Region and Kutch Area) Act 1958 by officials of the Gujarat government. The Gujarat High Court had given relief to farmers and stayed the orders of District Magistrate of Kutch, he said adding that the Modi government had challenged the High Court decision in the apex court. “Unless Special Leave Petition (plea) is withdrawn, all talk on protecting Sikh farmers is meaningless,” he said.

Says Sikh farmers had high hopes that Modi during his Punjab visit would make an announcement of withdrawal of plea

Tewari takes a dig at Modi over gurdwara statement

New Delhi: Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari, on Sunday, took a dig at Narendra Modi’s for claiming to have rebuilt a gurdwara in Kutch district of Gujarat, saying he had expelled Sikhs from the same place and later blamed it on officials.

“The Gujarat Chief Minister talks about rebuilding gurdwara in Kutch, but expels followers of the gurdwara from Kutch and blames it on officers and Akalis fete him,” Tewari said in a tweet.

The Minister’s tweet came after Modi in a rally in Punjab said a historical gurdwara in Kutch district had been damaged in earthquake in 2001 but it was restored to its glory later by the state government.

The gurdwara in Kot Lakhpat area of Kutch district has special relevance for Sikhs as Guru Nanak Dev is believed to have visited the place while going on a pilgrimage and his footwear are preserved there.