CHANDIGARH: Congress leader Sukhpal Khaira said that migrant labourers mainly from UP and Bihar should not have the right to buy land in Punjab. They should not be allowed to settle in the state.
There are more than 4.5 Lakh migrants in Ludhiana and have been residing in the city for decades. The recent statement of Congress leader contesting from Sangrur seat Sukhpal Khaira created chaos for his fellow Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, who is contesting from Ludhiana Seat.
Sukhpal Khaira’s statement on migrant laborers that they should not have the right to buy land in Punjab. He has been vocal about his views, stating that the people of UP and Bihar should not take over Punjab and that they should not be allowed to settle in the state. Khaira’s comments have sparked outrage among migrant workers and have been condemned by several political leaders and organizations.
While speaking to The Sunday Guardian, Ravneet Singh Bittu, a BJP candidate and former Congress MP from Ludhiana, condemned the comments made by Congress candidate Sukhpal Khaira regarding migrant workers. Bittu said, “They are not Pravasi, they are Deshvasi. There are people from Madras, Bihar, Rajasthan, who have been living here in Ludhiana for decades. What if the same treatment had been done to Punjabis in Kanpur, or in Kolkata? There are many Punjabis, who run transport businesses in West Bengal, or in Himachal. What would you do? This divisive statement by Congress shows their mindset; we all are part of one nation.”
Bittu criticized Khaira’s statement that migrants should not be given jobs or the right to vote in Punjab, highlighting the hypocrisy of such a stance by asking what if the situation were reversed and Punjabis were the ones seeking jobs elsewhere. This response underscores Bittu’s opposition to Khaira’s divisive remarks and his stance on the rights and contributions of migrant workers in Punjab.
The data available from the previous Lok Sabha elections in 2019 indicates that the number of Ludhiana’s enrolled migrant voters was 3.32 lakhs. This figure saw an increase to 4.87 lakh by the 2024 parliamentary elections. These numbers give us a sense of the migrant worker population in Ludhiana, considering that voter registration is a common practice among residents, including migrant workers. However, it’s important to note that these figures represent the number of registered migrant voters and not the total migrant worker population in Ludhiana.
In Ludhiana, migrant workers protested outside the office of Congress candidate Raja Warring and demanded an immediate apology for his comments against migrant workers. Recently, migrant workers in Ludhiana have been enraged by comments made by Congress candidate Sukhpal Khaira in Sangrur, and they have opened a front against the Congress candidate and party president Raja Warring.
Migrant leader said, “Ludhiana is an industry hub, Congress is abusing us.”
Migrant Labor Union leader Sonu Tiwari said, “Congress candidate is making wrong comments against migrant workers that if our government comes, we will remove migrant workers from Punjab and will not let them live, such comments are not appropriate.
Ludhiana is an industrial center and its industry depends on migrant workers, but such leaders are tarnishing the image of the party and they should be removed from the party.”
He said that Raja Warring is the party president and he should apologize.
In the last assembly elections, former CM Charanjit Channi also came into controversy when he made wrong comments against migrant workers living in Punjab. After the uproar, Channi had to apologize. Now, after Sukhpal Khaira’s statement, migrant workers have again flared up and Congress candidates are being boycotted everywhere in Punjab.
PM Modi has also condemned
The country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also condemned the comments made by the Congress candidate against migrant workers. On the previous Tuesday, in an election rally in Bihar, Modi strongly condemned the statement of Sukhpal Khaira in which Khaira had recently made wrong comments against migrant workers in Sangrur that migrant workers will not be allowed to stay in Punjab.