Central act enlarging BSF’s jurisdiction in Punjab fourth black law: Punjab minister

A Punjab minister on Friday dubbed the central legislation extending the BSF territorial jurisdiction to 50 km from the Indo-Pak border inside the state as a “fourth black law” after the three farm laws enacted earlier.

Punjab’s Soil and Water Conservation Minister Rana Gurjeet Singh, who also holds the portfolios of Technical Education and Employment Generation, said the increase in the BSF's jurisdiction from earlier 15 km to 50 km is the “fourth black law imposed by Centre on Punjab”.

Addressing a gathering in Hoshiarpur after laying the foundation stone for an irrigation project using treated water, Singh said the Centre earlier had imposed three farm laws and now the more powers to BSF is another black law on Punjab. “The Punjab government will strongly oppose this arbitrary decision,” the minister said.

Opposing the Centre's move to extend the BSF's territorial jurisdiction in the state, the Punjab Cabinet on Monday had said that law and order is a state subject and the police force is capable of dealing with any situation.

The Union government has amended the BSF Act to authorise the border guarding force to undertake search, seizure and arrest within a 50 km stretch, up from the existing 15 km, from the international border in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam.

The minister also lashed out at the Centre “for deliberately ignoring the demands and concerns of the country's farmers, who, he said, have been protesting at borders of the national capital for eleven months”. He reminded the Centre that Punjabis played a vital role in the country's freedom struggle and safeguarding the frontiers of the country besides contributing immensely to the country's food kitty by producing crops.

But the farmers today have been forced to sit at Singhu and other parts for their rights with the Centre paying no heed to their demands.

PTI SUN VSD RAX RAX

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)