Chandigarh: Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma on Tuesday said the withdrawal of the land pooling policy by the AAP government is a big victory for farmers and labourers, and that his party’s protests put pressure on the state government.

He said his party took a clear stand against this scheme from day one that it would not allow acquisition of even an inch of farmers’ land.

In the face of mounting pressure from farmer bodies and opposition parties, the Punjab government on Monday withdrew its land pooling policy, which it had once termed “farmer-friendly”.

The Punjab BJP on Tuesday held celebrations over the rolling back of the policy. “Punjab and Punjabiyat have won. It is a big victory of farmers and labourers,” Sharma told reporters here.

From day one, when the policy was released, the BJP took a clear stand that it would not let the AAP government acquire even an inch of land, he said.

He further accused AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain of “looting” Punjab. “Today, everybody knows Punjab is not run by Punjabis,” he said, claiming that AAP leaders sitting in Delhi call the shots.

“They (Delhi-based AAP leaders) brought the land pooling policy to loot Punjab,” the BJP leader charged.

“The BJP held protests at tehsil, block and district levels against the policy. We were to hold a protest, ‘Zameen Bachao, Kisan Bachao’ in Patiala on August 17. All these things put pressure on the state government,” Sharma said.

He demanded that the state government issue a notification about scrapping of the policy.

He said, “Will Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann make a statement to ensure that not even a single inch of land of farmers will be acquired through any other way?” In a brief statement issued on Monday evening, the principal secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development said, “The government hereby withdraws the land pooling policy dated May 14 and its subsequent amendments.”

“Consequently, all actions, like LOIs (letters of intent) issued, registration done, or any other action taken thereunder shall be reversed henceforth,” the

statement said.