Jalandar (December 18, 2009): Blaming migrants for creating lawlessness in Punjab, the Dal Khalsa described their heavy presence in the state as threat to peace and rule of law.
The Sikh organization asked the state government to regulate the entry of inter-state migrants strictly on the basis of job availability and ensure that those with a criminal past do not enter the territory for any reason.
Party leaders H S Dhami and Kanwarpal Singh said the unchecked and overwhelming influx of migrant labour has brought a whole load of unwanted baggage and social evils into Punjab. They said migrants were not only posing a threat to the job security and employment opportunities for Punjabi labourers but also threaten to radically alter the cultural identity of Punjab with negative influences.
Taking a dig at Punjab’s units of BJP, CPI, CPM, JD (U) that have been siding with migrants, they said the violent ruckus created in Ludhiana by the “outsiders” vindicate our long standing demand to ‘check migrations from the ‘cow-belt to safeguard the interests of the people of Punjab’. What happened in Ludhiana was a warning to the people of Punjab and the state government of dire consequences if the influx remains unchecked, they warned. It’s ironic that the BJP leaders were hell-bent to appease the migrants in spite of the fact that they were trouble-makers who not only looted and damaged public property but also terrorize the commoners in Ludhiana.
Contesting those who considered migrants as backbone of the industry, agriculture infrastructure and retail sectors, the leaders of the radical Sikh group said unlike the great migrations and assimilations into Punjab that occurred many hundreds of years in the past, the new wave of migrations was neither natural nor beneficial to the land, culture or long-term economic prospects of the state. “Punjab is a peripheral region which has a unique and distinct identity and cultural heritage, which has come under serious threat due to heavy influx of migrants”.
According to rough estimates, the number of migrants has reached round about 26 to 28 lacs- more than one tenth of the total population of the state. He further said about 13 lack migrants are presently working in the state while app. 15 lacs Punjabi’s were unemployed.
They suggested certain measures to check the flow of migrants that includes promulgating an Act that fixes the upper limit of the percentage (app 20 percent) of jobs for non-Punjabis Residents in all enterprises in the state whether private or public sector, ban on immovable properties, regulation and monitoring of the influx of the labourers, registration offices at all bus stands and railway stations and removing of all illegal slums from all parts of the state.