JOIN USCongress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday tore into the Narendra Modi government’s strong defence of the controversial amendments to the land acquisition law passed by the previous UPA government.
In a hard-hitting letter to Union minister Nitin Gadkari, Gandhi rejected his offer for dialogue on the contentious bill and accused the government of peddling half-truths, misrepresenting facts and bending over backwards to “benefit a handful of private parties”.
Last week, Gadkari had shot off letters to political leaders and social activists opposed to the land bill, challenging them for a debate to point out lacunae in the bill.
“Your proposition for a debate after the government has unilaterally imposed an anti-farmer law is a mockery of the tradition of building bipartisan consensus before introducing laws of national importance,” Gandhi has written.
The Right to Fair Compensation, Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill was passed with nine amendments by the Lok Sabha, where the NDA enjoys majority.
The Congress has been able to rally almost all non-NDA Opposition parties to stall the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, where the Modi government is in a minority.
In a point-by-point rebuttal of Gadkari’s claims, that the amendments to the land bill promoted the interests of villages, the poor, farmers and labourers, Gandhi said the UPA’s record on all these issues was second to none.
“Your arguments are designed to suggest that this is a new contribution the Narendra Modi government is making, in contrast with the record of the UPA government, and that those opposing your legislation are anti-farmer and anti-national,” she said.
Gandhi said the law passed by the UPA government was the result of debate and discussion, and hence a legacy of all parties—including the BJP—and not just the Congress.
“In contrast, the amendments you have brought to this law have completely bypassed any debate or discussion. This explains why opposition to this amended legislation comes not just from the Congress and like-minded parties, but also from constituents of the NDA,” she said.