New Delhi: The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) on Thursday condemned the Narendra Modi government`s decision to evict 5,000 Sikh farmers from Bhuj district in Kutch and alleged that it showcases the "anti-farmer and pro-corporate stance" of the Chief Minister.
"The All India Kisan Sabha condemns this anti-farmer stance. We stand in solidarity with the affected farmers and this conspiracy will be defeated through intense struggles," AIKS general secretary Hannan Mollah said.
"The BJP Government is now conspiring to force the farmers out of their agricultural land and hand it over to real estate companies and corporate houses.
"Over five lakh acres of land has already been handed over to corporate houses. Gujarat government has resorted to the crude campaign against Sikh farmers and divide the society which has been living in harmony for the last five decades," he alleged.
Many Sikh farmers settled in Kutch region had approached the Gujarat High Court against the state government`s decision to "freeze" land holdings of hundreds of farmers by invoking the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1958.
In June last year, the Gujarat High Court gave a judgment favouring these farmers and held the Gujarat government`s order "illegal", against which the Gujarat government moved the Supreme Court and a Special Leave Petition is pending.
Over 5,000 Sikh families are cultivating about one lakh acre of land. They possess ration and voter`s cards and speak Gujarati language and assimilated themselves into the local society, said Mollah.
A group of Sikh farmers from Kutch has been camping in Delhi for the last one month.
The next date of hearing in the case in the Supreme Court has been fixed for September 10.
PTI
