Ludhiana, Aug. 13 -- Senior Congress leader and former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu on Tuesday said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government withdrew the controversial land-pooling policy only because of the pressure from the Punjab and Haryana high court (HC). It was not due to any sympathy with farmers, he alleged.

Ashu said AAP leaders and ministers are now trying to "save face" by claiming that they listened to the farmers' demand. "The fact is that the AAP government was not left with any option after the Punjab and Haryana high court stayed the policy," he noted.

"Their intention was quite clear to snatch away 50,000 acres of land worth lakhs of crores of rupees from farmers/landowners without their consent or any compensation," he sa...