Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Vikram Randhawa on Friday alleged that residents of the Kashmir Valley had illegally occupied land belonging to the Jammu Development Authority in Jammu city, The Hindu reported.

The claims made by Randhawa sparked a political row.

Raising the matter in the Assembly, Randhawa claimed that more than 16,000 kanals of land in Jammu had been encroached and claimed that 90% of it had been occupied by persons from the Kashmir Valley.

“The Jammu and Kashmir government should probe and take action,” he said.

He further alleged that the alleged encroachments were a “sinister move to change the demography of Jammu”, The Hindu reported.

He said that there would be no objections to Kashmiris purchasing land and building houses in Jammu by following due process, but they should not do so on government land, PTI reported.

Outside the House, the BJP MLA alleged that the government had been withholding the list of alleged encroachers because they were Kashmiris.

Replying to Randhawa, Social Welfare Minister Sakina Itoo cited records as showing that 688 kanals and 17 marlas of land in Bahu tehsil and 579 kanals in Jammu South tehsil had been encroached upon, the Hindustan Times reported.

Eight kanals and 160 marlas both amount to one acre.

“These encroachments are old and are being removed as per the provisions of the Public Premises Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants Act and other relevant laws,” she said.

She said that since January 2025, 34 drives had been conducted to clear encroachments in the two tehsils, resulting in the retrieval of 140 kanals and 11 marlas of land belonging to the Jammu Development Authority.

Itoo rejected Randhawa’s allegations and said that encroachments should not be viewed through a regional or religious lens, the Hindustan Times reported.

Jammu and Kashmir should not be divided on such grounds, she added.

Altaf Kaloo, another legislator from the ruling National Conference, said that the “people from Kashmir are well off and have the purchasing capability to buy land in Jammu”.

“People have bought land in Jammu,” The Hindu quoted him as saying.

Randhawa’s remarks prompted protests from members of the House.

Peoples Democratic Party MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra said that the matter should not be framed in communal terms.

“We feel that the people, irrespective of caste, creed, colour and religion, who are landless and homeless but live on state land, should be regularised,” the Hindustan Times quoted Para as saying.

He accused the BJP of “spreading politics of hate”, The Hindu reported.