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Country Advice Country Advice India India – IND38565 – Punjab – Land Mafia – BJP – State Protection 12 April 2011 1. Is the BJP in power in Punjab? The state of Punjab is governed by a coalition which includes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The coalition is dominated by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) with the BJP constituting a minor partner. The coalition gained power in the last Punjab Assembly elections, held in February 2007, where it won 67 seats.1 SAD is a state based party maintaining a Sikh identity which has allied itself with the nation-wide Hindu-nationalist BJP. Sardar Parkash Singh Badal is president of SAD and heads the Punjab state government as Chief Minister.2 The next assembly elections are scheduled for 2011.3 2. Do authorities in Punjab protect those facing harassment from the BJP? No specific reports were found indicating authorities in Punjab either protect or fail to protect those facing harassment from the BJP. The question of whether the authorities in Punjab would protect those facing harassment from the BJP depends to a large extent on how much influence the Party, as part of the ruling coalition, has over the state police. In India generally, there have been reports of police acting according to the whims of the ruling political party. Also, it is the states, rather than the Federal government, that have control of policing. Human Rights Watch (HRW), is cited by the US Department of State (US DOS), stating that “Police officers sometimes make arrests…due to political considerations or the influence of powerful local figures”. 4 The Congress Party in Punjab has accused the ruling SAD-BJP coalition of politicising the police force. It claims that the state Government used “frequent transfers a way to teach a lesson to those who do not obey unconstitutional and illegitimate dictates”.5 1 „Punjab Assembly Election 2007 Results‟ 2007, Indian Elections website, 27 February http://www.indian- elections.com/assembly-elections/punjab/election-result-07.html – Accessed 30 June 2010 – Attachment 1 2 „Meet the Chief Minister‟ (undated), Punjab Government website http://www.punjabgovt.nic.in/GOVERNMENT/meetChiefMinister.htm – Accessed 30 June 2010 – Attachment 2 3 Kamal, N. 2011, „Punjab assembly polls: Industrialists in poll fight?‟, The Times of India, 22 March http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-03-22/india/29174270_1_punjab-assembly-barnala-industrialists – Accessed 11 April 2011 – Attachment 3 4 US Department of State 2010, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2009 – India, 11 March – Attachment 4 5 „Punjab Congress blames SAD-BJP Govt for politicizing police‟, 2011, Punjab Newsline, 22 March http://punjabnewsline.com/content/punjab-congress-blames-sad-bjp-govt-politicizing-police/30065 – Accessed 11 April 2011 – Attachment 5 Page 1 of 5 Having said this, the BJP is the minor partner in the coalition and seems to have had trouble in exerting control over Government policy and action. It only has approximately 20 seats in the Legislative Assembly while the SAD has around 50.6 In June 2010, conflict arose when SAD failed to release development funds to BJP constituencies which caused the latter to threaten a revolt and to have its ministers hand in their resignations.7 The fact that the BJP had to use such measures in order to obtain the release of development funds suggests it is unlikely that the party has a strong control of state apparatuses like the police force. The dispute between the two coalition partners was not an isolated incident, with a 2009 article citing the recurring problem of SAD‟s “non-cooperation” with the BJP.8 The BJP‟s state leader mentioned in a June 2010 article that he “regretted [that] the Akali leadership which was playing the role of an elder brother in the SAD-BJP government had not kept its word as an alliance partner”.9 Furthermore, given that the Coalition gained power only around four years ago and prior to that the Government was led by the BJP‟s rival, the Indian National Congress (Congress), it is unlikely that the BJP has had sufficient time to be able to develop any strong loyalties within the police force.10 3. Are there states in India where the BJP is not in power and do not control the authorities? Most states in India do not have governments led by the BJP. The BJP website lists the states in which the Chief Minister is a BJP member, suggesting that in these states the BJP is at least a major partner in the ruling coalition, if not ruling in its own right. There are only 9 such states out of the 28 states and 7 union territories that make up India.11 States where the BJP is not in power and unlikely to control authorities include states ruled by the BJP‟s national rival, Congress. Congress rules 9 Indian states and 2 union territories. This includes the states of Rajasthan and Haryana which border Punjab and the union territory of Delhi which is nearby.12 Also strongly opposed to the BJP is the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) which rules the states of West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura.13 6 „Legislative Members‟ (undated), Punjab Government website http://www.punjabgovt.nic.in/GOVERNMENT/13_legislative_assembly.htm – Accessed 30 June 2010 – Attachment 6 7 Singh, J. 2010, „BJP claims it may take revolt to „logical conclusion‟‟, The Tribune, 24 June http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100625/punjab.htm#1 – Accessed 30 June 2010 – Attachment 7 8 Dheer, G. 2009, „Trouble in BJP‟s Punjab parivaar‟, Indian Express, 6 February http://www.indianexpress.com/news/trouble-in-bjps-punjab-parivaar/419753/ – Accessed 30 June 2010 – Attachment 8 9 „BJP asks workers to gear up for 2012 Punjab Assy polls‟ 2010, United News of India, 22 June – Attachment 9 10 Dewan, U. 2010, „Patiala Congress readies to welcome Amarinder‟, The Tribune, 11 May http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100512/punjab.htm#5 – Accessed 30 June 2010 – Attachment 10 11 „Chief Ministers‟, 2011, Bharatiya Janata Party website http://www.bjp.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3263&Itemid=978 – Accessed 11 April 2011 - Attachment 11 12 „Congress Ruled States‟, (undated), Indian National Congress website http://www.congress.org.in/new/ruled- states.php – Accessed 11 April 2011 – Attachment 12 13 „About Us‟, 2011, Communist Party of India (Marxist) website, 8 April http://cpim.org/content/about-us – Accessed 11 April 2011 – Attachment 13 Page 2 of 5 4. Are those in Punjab who face pressure to give up their land able to obtain state protection? While those facing pressure to give up their land are, in general, able to obtain state protection, this ability is inhibited by police collusion with perpetrators and general corruption among authorities. Police Action on Land Grabs Those facing pressure to give up their land are often the victims of the „land mafia‟ – a group of unscrupulous real estate agents and hired thugs who are alleged to have engaged in land grabs and illegal sales of land. There are allegations of collusion between the land mafia and the police. The South Asian Post reported in September 2010 that local Punjabi media had recently publicised “several cases of land grabs by gangsters and cops, who allegedly managed to sell the properties through forged documents and impersonation in the Doaba region”.14 A December 2010 Indian Express article quotes former Director General of Police in Punjab, Chander Shekhar, who claims that there exists “a nexus of land mafia with some politicians, bureaucrats, police officers” involved in the sales of illegal properties.15 The Sikh Philosophy website reported allegations that a Member of the Legislative Assembly, Virsa Singh Valtoha, who was a member of the ruling Akali Dal party, had supported one Ajit Singh in an attempt to force a family off their land. After an altercation involving the land, police were alleged to have arrested, tortured and killed a member of the victimised family, 75 year old Subegh Singh.16 Despite this there have been reports of successful arrests and prosecutions of members of the land mafia and those threatening to take others‟ land. A March 2010 report stated that following a clash over a land dispute that left one person dead, police were said to have booked 12 people.17 The Asian Pacific Post reported in 2008 of a recent judgment where five members of the land mafia were sentenced to prison for illegally selling five and half acres of land.18 Also noteworthy is a Punjab News Online report in March 2011 on the arrest of an alleged leader of the land mafia and eight members of a gang in the neighbouring state of Haryana. A police spokesman urged 14 „Punjab‟s land mafia thrives as property prices soar‟ 2010, South Asian Post, 2 September http://www.southasianpost.com/news/topnews/article/punjab%E2%80%99slandmafiathrivespropertypricessoar – Accessed 18 February 2011 – Attachment 14; Saunders, L. C. 2008, „Property boom triggers land grabs‟, Asian Pacific Post, 30 July http://www.asianpacificpost.com/portal2/c1ee8c441b716617011b75d11d6d0060_Property_boom_triggers_land_gra bs.do.html – Accessed 18 February 2011 – Attachment 15 15 „Ex-DGP alleges nexus between land mafia and politicians, cops, babus; seeks CBI probe‟ 2010, Indian Express, 18 December http://www.indianexpress.com/news/exdgp-alleges-nexus-between-land-mafia-and-politicians-cops- babus;-seeks-cbi-probe/726318/0 – Accessed 18 February 2011 – Attachment 16 16 „75 years old sikh died of Punjab Police torture‟, 2010, Sikh Philosophy website, 7 August http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/india/31764-75-years-old-sikh-died-punjab.html – Accessed 11 April 2011 – Attachment 17 17 „Community clash over land dispute in Punjab; 1 dead, 7 hurt‟, 2010, Daily News and Analysis website, 27 March http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_community-clash-over-land-dispute-in-punjab-1-dead-7-hurt_1364245 – Accessed 11 April 2011 – Attachment 18 18 Saunders, L.
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