Will oppose land acquisition bill, Sonia writes to Anna Hazare

Farmers protest against the land bill in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Source: AP photo)

In yet another proactive step in opposing the NDA government’s move to bring changes to the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has written to activist Anna Hazare, saying she shared his concerns over the proposed amendments and that her party would continue to fight the bill.

Gandhi wrote to Hazare in a reply to an earlier letter from him in which he had laid down his concerns over the Centre’s move.

“I have got your letter dated March 14 in which you have talked about your doubts about the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015. I am in agreement with your views that the Ordinance of the NDA government and the amendment bill, which is now before Parliament, is not in the interest of farmers,” she says in her letter.

The Congress president said her party would oppose this bill on all fora, and also referred to the protest march by 14 opposition parties from Parliament to Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday.

“I want to assure you that our fight on this issue will continue,” Sonia said.

On Monday, Vinayak Patil, an aide of the activist, had told reporters: “Anna has written a letter to all the opposition parties to oppose the anti-farmer bill if it is introduced in the Rajya Sabha.” He was in the capital to meet the opposition leaders and also hand over a memorandum against the bill to all major opposition parties.

“The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha using brute majority. The bill has several clauses, which are anti-farmer in nature. Now this bill will be introduced in the Rajya Sabha, but the government does not have majority there. So, the bill cannot be passed,” Hazare said in the letter

Source:: Indian Express