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| Section 133-H of J&K Land Act unconstitutional, discriminatory: Harsh Dev | | ‘Depriving Mahajans, Khatris and Sikhs to buy or sell agri land violation of fundamental rights’ | |  KUNAL SHRIVATSA
EARLY TIMES REPORT
Jammu, June 20: Panthers Party chairman and former minister, Harsh Dev Singh has termed the section 133-H of J&K Land Revenue Act as unconstitutional and discriminatory to Mahajan, Khatri and Sikh communities which debars members of these communities from buying or selling agricultural land in J&K.
Pointing out flaws in the J&K Land Revenue Act, Harsh Dev Singh said that if presently Mahajan, Khatri and Sikh communities have been barred from purchasing and selling agricultural land due to Section 133-H of J&K Land Revenue Act then in future a law could be enacted which would prohibit Brahmins or Rajputs to run a business or trade.
Talking to Early Times, senior Panthers Party leader Harsh Dev Singh said that enacting such ‘foolish’ laws is the handiwork of officers sitting in New Delhi who don’t know the ground realities of J&K.
“Every law rolled out by the Ministry of Home Affairs after the abrogation of Article 370 has been drafted by the officers at New Delhi who have no knowledge of J&K and its core issues. They make laws overnight and implement them without ever thinking about their pros and cons. It makes no sense that some particular communities are disallowed to opt for a particular profession,” said Singh.
“The law restricting Mahajans, Khatris and Sikhs on purchasing agricultural land was also drafted and imposed without giving it a thought. Its implementation is unconstitutional and it also violates fundamental rights of the communities deprived of purchasing agricultural land,” he added.
Harsh Dev Singh said that the government is creating unnecessary obstacles for certain communities despite the fact that everybody has equal rights and there is no need for such land laws which deprive so and so community from purchasing land having a particular category.
He further said that it is hard to understand why Section 133-H has been incorporated in the Land Revenue Act, adding that what is more baffling is the criminal silence of the local BJP leadership over the issue.
“Inclusion of Section 133-H seems to be a conspiracy of some bureaucrats, who had ulterior motives but acting like a mute spectator over the issue by the BJP leadership has created doubts among Jammuites. BJP’s dubious stand has led to growing resentment among the affected communities,” Singh said.
Hitting hard at the BJP leadership in Jammu and Kashmir as well as at New Delhi for taking alleged anti-Jammu decisions one after the another particularly following abrogation of Article 370, he said that the Jammuites extended them a massive mandate in the last Assembly elections held in 2014 and the two parliamentary polls of 2014 and 2019 but they have failed to come up to the expectation of the Jammu people.
“BJP needs to change its attitude towards the people of Jammu. Instead of rectifying this blunder the local BJP leaders are trying to shrug off their responsibility. They should exert pressure on MHA and their central leadership to make necessary amendments to the flawed land act,” he said. |
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