Delay in land acquisition for Shaheed Sukhdev's memorial sparks protest

Members of the Khatri Mahasabha, Punjab, has announced that it will place donation boxes outside the houses and offices of all 92 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs to raise funds for land acquisition, ensuring direct access to Shaheed Sukhdev Thapar’s birthplace from Chaura Bazaar. This initiative is being undertaken in protest against the Punjab government’s failure to release approximately Rs 1 crore from the state treasury for acquiring 44.50 square yards of land, which has remained a long-standing obstacle in providing direct access to the historic site.

The announcement was made by Tribhuvan Thapar, a descendant of Shaheed Sukhdev Thapar and young chief campaigner of both the Shaheed Sukhdev Thapar Memorial Trust and Khatri Mahasabha Punjab. Tribhuvan is the son of Ashok Thapar, the nephew of Shaheed Sukhdev Thapar. Their family has been struggling with successive governments for the past four decades against the official neglect of the martyr’s birthplace.

Criticizing the bureaucratic delay, Tribhuvan Thapar condemned the repeated shuttling of the file related to the land acquisition between the offices of the SDM and Municipal Corporation, despite the completion of the legal process. He pointed out that in the past three years, the Punjab government has failed to allocate Rs 1 crore for the memorial of a martyr who sacrificed his life for the country. He also recalled Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s statement from August 15, 2022, where Mann had declared, "We are not even the dust of Shaheed Sukhdev Ji's feet. However, despite such proclamations, the government has allowed the file to gather dust in administrative offices, exposing the incompetence of the district administration.

Mocking the government’s inaction, Tribhuvan Thapar suggested that the state might not have the funds to purchase the small piece of land required for ensuring access to the memorial. In response, Khatri Mahasabha Punjab has taken matters into its own hands by planning to raise one crore rupees through public donations. The placement of donation boxes outside AAP MLAs’ homes and offices aims to highlight the government’s failure and push for swift action.

Thapar also revealed that ahead of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s two-day visit to Ludhiana, a letter from the SDM’s office — dated March 13, 2025 — was sent to the martyr’s family via WhatsApp. He claimed this was a last-minute attempt to prevent embarrassment to AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and CM Bhagwant Mann, ensuring the delay in this matter does not become a public controversy during their visit.