Delhi, December 14, 2018: The Punjab Vidhan Sabha has today unanimously passed a special resolution regarding Kartarpur Sahib, advocating for a land-swap with Pakistan. This is an eminently appropriate idea and would be the sort of long-term solution that an emotive issue such as this needs.
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, Partap Singh Bajwa said, “On the 8th of December, 2011, I had raised this very proposal in the Lok Sabha. I proposed a land-swap deal, where the area around Kartarpur Sahib is transferred to India in return for an equivalent area from us.”
He said, “There are several instances of such land-swaps in our history – in the years after Partition, again with Pakistan in 1962 and, constitutionally, very recently with Bangladesh.”
A deal such as this precludes any debate on its sustainability, any national security concerns and therefore any uncertainty. We must put to bed all such concerns, especially in matters of faith such as this. To this end, I also wrote a letter to the Prime Minister reiterating my proposal, he added.
Bajwa said, Today, my proposal, in principle, has found favour across party lines in Punjab. The CM of Punjab, opposition leaders and, with the resolution, all serving legislators have backed the land-swap deal. It is our duty as politicians, that we listen to the people, assuage their concerns and worries, and give them a gift to cherish forever.
I am extremely thankful to all the stakeholders for accepting the suggestion, said Bajwa