CHANDIGARH: Punjab is facing growing public concern over the impact of unchecked and inadequately verified migration on the state’s social fabric, law-and-order situation and pressure on local resources. Against this backdrop, an old public post by Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan has raised serious questions about the gap between political promises made in opposition and action after assuming power.
In 2020, when Sandhwan was in the Opposition, he publicly demanded a complete ban on outsiders buying land in Punjab. His position was clear: Punjab’s agricultural land and resources needed protection from outside purchasers.
However, after the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in 2022 and Sandhwan assumed the important constitutional position of Speaker, the issue appeared to lose its urgency in government policy.
Nearly five years into the AAP government, critics are now asking a straightforward question: If restricting outside acquisition of Punjab’s land was important enough to demand a complete ban in 2020, why was there no comparable determination to address the issue after coming to power?
The question has become even more significant amid concerns about large-scale migration into Punjab. The issue should not be framed against any particular nationality, ethnicity or community. Every person living and working in Punjab deserves dignity and legal protection. At the same time, the state has a legitimate responsibility to ensure proper identification, documentation, verification and compliance with the law.
Where authorities fail to properly verify newcomers, the consequences can extend beyond migration itself—including pressure on housing, employment, public services and local administration, while potentially creating law-and-order and security challenges.
Punjab therefore needs a transparent, lawful and comprehensive verification mechanism, rather than political rhetoric. The government should make clear how many people have entered the state in recent years, what verification procedures are being followed, and whether local authorities have adequate resources to manage population pressures.
The larger political issue, however, remains Sandhwan’s 2020 position.
Was the demand for a complete ban on outsiders buying land a genuine policy conviction—or merely an Opposition-era political position