With the proposed Land Acquisition Bill, the Bharatiya Janata Party A(BJP) had been acting as a real estate agent for corporate companies, flayed Congress MP Sudharsana Nachiappan.
Addressing a demonstration against the bill here on Monday, he said that large tracts of land were acquired by the British government with the help of police before independence. The BJP’s interests in acquiring lands were similar to that of the British.
After acquisition of lands, they would be given to the corporate sector only. The bill was favourable to landowners when the congress framed it initially. Offering a higher price to landowners who offered their land for developmental activities and rehabilitation measures were the highlights of the bill. But such clauses had been completely removed in the new bill tabled by the BJP.
It would snatch rights of tribal people and farmers and wipe out their livelihood activities. “We cannot accept that that law has provisions to give more powers to State government,” he said. The AIADMK government also supported the bill, believing in BJP’s false propaganda. The BJP was executing many anti-people bills using its clout as majority in the Lok Sabha, he said.
Though the Centre had propagated that acquisition of land was for industrial development, it would not generate job opportunities because multinational companies and corporate majors use only machineries for bulk production and would never depend on manpower, he said.
Ramanathapuram
Former Union Minister and Congress leader Su Thirunavukarasar, who led the agitation in Ramanathapuram, said the BJP-led NDA government was acting against the interest of farmers and pursuing crony capitalism.
The poor and downtrodden gave their mandate for Narendra Modi and made him the Prime Minister, hoping that he would redress their grievances and protect their interests, but he had deceived them. The Congress has succeeded in bringing together 18 opposition parties to fight against the land bill, he said.
Pointing out that the Congress-led opposition parties had met and represented the President against the bill, he said the party would not rest till the government withdrew it. The agitation was led by newly-appointed district president ‘Thuqlak’ Rajendran. Former district presidents Victor and Ramesh Babu and office-bearer Velusamy participated.
