Home ministry letter talking of human trafficking aimed at defaming farmers: SAD

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) termed the letter by the Home ministry on the “enormous” issue of human trafficking and bonded labour practices being followed in the border belt of Punjab as a ridiculous assumption aimed purely at defaming the farmers of the State. Former MP Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra said the letter from the home ministry itself was self-contradictory. On the one hand, the letter was claiming that 58 persons had been apprehended by the Border Security Force (BSF) and that they seemed to be mentally challenged, he said. Also Read | Will there be a complete lockdown in Punjab? Here’s what facts say Simultaneously, it was being claimed that “human trafficking syndicates” were luring such persons to areas in Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Ferozepur, and Abohar with the promise of good salaries but that they were exploited and forced to work as bonded labouers, he added. “Can both these things happen simultaneously?” asked the Shiromani Akali Dal leader while asking the Home Ministry not to make illogical connections. Also Read | Coronavirus peak in Punjab in first 10 days of April: CMC Ludhiana Prof Chandumajra said such letters from the Home ministry would also send a wrong signal across the country and would create an atmosphere of confrontation. Shiromani Akali Dal leader also said the fact of the matter was that there was not one FIR of any person being forced to work as a bonded labourer in any of the areas mentioned in the letter. “In fact the opposite is true. Farmers of Punjab pay labourers in advance for their services and that is why lakhs of migrant workers come to Punjab every year for planting of the paddy crop,” he said. The former MP said the report should be immediately withdrawn and the real reason why some mentally challenged people found their way to the border areas which were at the end of the railway lines should be examined. Click here to follow PTC News on Twitter -PTC News

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