A delegation of Punjabi farming families, who had settled in Kutch, met Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today and expressed confidence in Gujarat government, an official Gujarat government statement said.
The issue of Punjabi farmers, settled in the border district of Kutch since the first Indo-Pak war, was mired in controversy after Gujarat government issued notices to them, debarring them from owning or selling the land in their possession.
As per the press statement issued by Gujarat government today, a delegation of Punjabi farmers met Badal on the sidelines of the Global Agriculture Summit 2013.
"During their meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Badal at Mahatma Mandir, the Punjabi farmer families praised the total co-operation of Gujarat government and conveyed to him that it was a deliberate political ploy to disgrace the state government," the Gujarat government statement said.
"In his response, Badal told them that Punjabi farmers are fortunate that they have been making progress in an honest and safe state like Gujarat," the official statement said.
"Badal also assured to expose those trying to malign the image of Narendra Modi and the government of Gujarat by holding a press conference in Chandigarh," the statement said.
A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by some Punjabi farmers in the Gujarat High Court challenging the Gujarat government's action of prohibiting those who have settled in Gujarat to own or sell land in the state.
After the Gujarat High Court allowed the PIL and termed such a prohibition as "illegal", Gujarat government challenged the judgment in the Supreme Court where a hearing is pending.
