Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Monday assured his Punjab counterpart,Parkash Singh Badal,that no Punjabi or Sikh farmer from the Kutch region will be displaced at any cost. Modi gave the assurance to Badal who was Gandhinagar to participate in the inaugural session of the three-day Vibrant Gujarat Global Agriculture Summit-2013 in a specially convened meeting of Punjabi farmers from Kutch region,a statement by the Punjab government said. In 1973,a Congress government of Gujarat had issued a circular that if any agriculturist from outside purchases agricultural land in that state,he will be declared a non-agriculturist. The crisis faced by Punjabi farmers was totally based on this circular issued by the Congress government, Modi said,adding that some people were trying to malign the image of the Gujarat government by spreading canards that his government has adopted a discriminatory attitude towards Sikh farmers from Punjab,who are tilling land in Kutch. Modi assured Badal that though the issue was sub-judice,his government was committed to safeguard the interests of Sikh farmers. There was no question of their eviction from Gujarat, he told Badal. Lauding the role played by Punjabis in socio-economic development of Gujarat,Modi said: Nearly 50,000 Sikhs had lived peacefully in Gujarat since centuries,thereby intermingling with other communities and playing a proactive role in the states development. Any officer of the Gujarat government,compelling the farmers to leave the state,should understand clearly that in such a case,he will have to leave Gujarat. Modi apprised Badal that out of the 784 families settled in Kutch,245 were from Punjab,88 from Gujarat and 451 from other states like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The Gujarat government will protect their rights to live peacefully and earn their livelihood with dignity, he added. Badal,meanwhile,refused to comment on the issue. Responding to mediapersons in Gandhinagar,he said that he had taken up the matter with Modi earlier as well. I have taken it up now as well, he said. Asked if any assurances had been given by the Gujarat government to ensure that Sikh farmers would not be evicted,he said: I dont want to make any comment on the issue as the matter is sub judice. He also did not make any mention of the issue in his speech. Sardar Modi countrys greatest leader: Badal Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal,chief patron of the SAD,which is the biggest supporter of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA),on Monday called his Gujarat counterpart and chairman of BJPs election campaign committee Narendra Modi as the greatest leader of the country. Badal also asked Modi not to limit himself to Gujarat alone. In the beginning of his address at the inaugural session of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Agriculture Summit 2013 here,Badal said,I thank the greatest leader of the country and Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi for organising a first-of-its-kind summit to address the problems of countrys farmers. Gujarat is the state which gave birth to Mahatma Gandhi,which gave us Sardar Patel and now it has given Sardar Modi to our nation, he said. Addressing the summit,86-year-old Badal told Modi: Dont limit yourself to Gujarat only. We love you very much. Badal,however,argued that the summit should have been called Vibrant India instead of Vibrant Gujarat as a large number of farmers from across the country are participating in it. Badal also urged Modi to organise the next agriculture summit in Delhi. He said that taking a cue from Modi,he will organise a similar agriculture summit sometime in February next year in Punjab. Praising Modi for his work in animal husbandry,Badal said,Modiji had gifted me a cow of famous Gir breed of the state. I have kept it at my village farm. When I go to my village,everyday I drink her milk. But Modiji now you have to give me another young one,as that cow has grown old. The Dal Khalsa,meanwhile,slammed Badal for praising Modi. Badal should have skipped the event to register his protest on the issue, Dal Khalsa spokesman Kanwar Pal Singh said.
