In recent days, there have been reports that suggest that the Uttar Pradesh government is attempting to displace more than 30,000 Sikh farmers. Media reports had suggested that these farmers -- many of whom had spent several generations in Uttar Pradesh -- would have their arable land take over by the government.
On Thursday, Union Minister of Food Processing Industries, Harsimrat Kaur Badal took to Twitter stating that she had spoken to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath about the "forceful eviction of thousands of Sikh farmer families".
"Spoke to UP CM Yogi Adityanath ji about the forceful eviction of thousands of Sikh farmer families from their land in Bijnore, Rampur, Lakhimpur and Nanakmata. Yogi ji has assured no injustice will be done to them. A SAD delegation will also meet him to apprise of their plight," the tweet said.
Reacting to the same, on June 16, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had said that he has taken cognizance of the issue. At the time, he had also said that he would take up the issue with his Uttar Pradesh counterpart and with Home Minister Amit Shah.
"If the reports were correct, it was undoubtedly a matter of worry. Any such act was against the federal structure of India and its constitutional polity, which gave every Indian the freedom to live in any part of the country," he had been quoted as saying on Tuesday by an ANI report.
According to the Chief Minister, these families had been settled in the districts of Rampur, Bijnaur and Lakhimpur many years ago, and had even received proprietorship rights from the UP government in 1980.
Reports suggest that these Sikh families had shifted to 17 villages in the three districts of Uttar Pradesh in 1947 at the time of the Partition and had with their hard work converted the forest area into arable land, a PTI report quoted him as saying.
(With inputs from agencies)
