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CM Badal Sings Nationalism, While Displaced Residents of Border-range continue to suffer

October 3, 2016 | By Parmjeet Singh

Chandigarh: The plight to people displaced from border range of Punjab under the orders of the Central government are making headlines. Many videos have surfaced over social media which shows that people who were compelled to leave their houses and vacate villages with in 10 kms of Indo-Pak border in Pakistan are residing in temporary camps without basic facilities.

Indian Government decision to evacuate 10 kilo-meter area adjoining Pakistan border in Punjab has invited criticism from multiple quarters.

The affected population is slamming the government for harassing them under the garb of alleged threat of armed attack from the other side of no-men’s land and former military-men and experts (as per media reports) term Punjab border evacuation as ‘unwarranted’ and ‘premature’.

On the other hand Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal has come forward to defend the Centre’s move. In a statement, high in ‘nationalism’ tone, Punjab CM criticised opposition for allegedly politicizing issues concerning “security and sovereignty of the country”.

Badal said that implored all the political parties to desist from issuing provocative statements in wake of impending crisis on Indo-Pak border in (so-called) “larger national interest”.

Interacting with the media persons during his visit to border village of Ferozepur district here today, the Chief Minister exhorted the political leaders to shun politics in this peculiar situation. He said that it was unfortunate that several political leaders were continuously politicking at this critical juncture when clouds of war were hovering over the country.

Badal said that many occasions for politics would come for the parties but at this critical juncture leaders must avoid it for safeguarding the interests of the country in general and Punjab in particular.

Notably, Congress party’s state chief Capt. Amarinder Singh recently slammed the Modi government for allegedly creating war hysteria and tension along Punjab borders with an eye on Uttar Pradesh elections.

Capt Amarinder pointed out, the orders for evacuation had not come from the defence ministry, but the home ministry. He said, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal instead of meekly submitting to the centre’s diktats should have taken a stand against evacuation which is totally uncalled for.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has also criticized the Central and State governments for spreading panic in Punjab. In a written statement issued on Saturday (Oct. 1). AAP’s state convenor Gurpreet Ghuggi raised a question that the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat too share border with Pakistan, but why only Punjabis were being forced migrate?

The Indian Express (IE) reported that a cross-section of senior retired defence officers, when asked to comment on mass evacuation exercise undertaken in Punjab’s border areas, were unanimous in saying that the decision to vacate the villages was not well thought of especially when the Army itself had not shown any signs of mobilisation and had not occupied the forward defences.

It is notable that the people of border belt of Punjab has dense population and people are largely dependent on agriculture. Affected people of Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Faridkot, Fazilka and Tarn Taran districts are concerned about their crops as the paddy-harvesting season is nearing.

A detailed report in the Sikh Siyasat News (in Punjabi) notes that on the one hand Punjab farmer are not allowed to look after their crops and fields located on east-Punjab side of the no-men’s land but on the other hand trade trucks carrying goods worth crores are routinely crossing the border at Attari based joint check post at India-Pakistan international border.

Border areas were visited by a local journalist associated with the Sikh Siyasat News today who found that most of the affected people have a common question that if there was a real threat of war with Pakistan, why the trade-trucks were still crossing the border? (READ MORE in Punjabi).

Talking to BBC Hindi Salvinder Singh (Watch Video Below), a resident of village Gilpan near Patti in Tarn Taran district, said that there was nothing like fear of war as there is no movement of army in the area till today. He said that he has witnessed 1971 India-Pakistan war and where there is some real apprehension of war it follows immediate mass movement of the Army and laying of field mines. He said that the evacuation in border areas seems to be an election stunt and the government was trying to fool the people.

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Related Topics: Aam Aadmi Party, Congress Party, Indian Politics, Indo-Pak Relations, Parkash Singh Badal, Punjab Government, Punjab Politics, Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal)

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