Nation

---

PM'S 'MANN KI BAAT'

Modi hardsells contentious land Bill to farmers

Posted at: Mar 23 2015 12:59AM

PM's 'Mann Ki Baat'

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 22

With the land acquisition turning into a major political battle, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today sought to hardsell the legislation urging the farmers not to be misled by the canards being spread and attacked the Opposition for seeking to obfuscate the issue.

Hours after Prime Minister Modi reached out to the farmers through his "Mann Ki Baat" programme on All-India Radio, the Congress joined issue stating the changes brought about in the 2013 legislation was a "smoke screen" to benefit industrialists and accused that the PM was "lying" by claiming to have done favour with amendments in 13 Acts.

With the Modi government unable to get the contentious Bill to replace the ordinance in the first half of the Budget session amid stout opposition, the Prime Minister underscored the amendments carried by the Lok Sabha were meant to benefit farmers and villagers.

The Bill, currently in the Rajya Sabha and no prospect of its passage before April 5 deadline for the Ordinance to lapse, the PM said the new Bill addressed "lacunae" in the earlier law which was enacted in a haste. He said the government was willing to accommodate any more suggestion in farmers' interest.

While he began the 30-minute talk highlighting problems raised by farmers and those residing in villages, a major portion was devoted to underscore the benefits from the land Bill. He reminded the states that they favoured changes in the 2013 Act suggesting that yet if any state wanted to go by the previous law, they were free to do so.

In an apparent reference to the Congress, which is now carrying out a campaign against changes in the law, he said: "Those projecting themselves as sympathisers of farmers and undertaking protests" had been using a 120-year-old law to acquire farm land for over 60-65 years after Independence and were now targeting his government which is "trying to improve upon the Act of 2013".

Under the new Bill, he said, compensation amount remained undiluted to the one provided in the 2013 Act and dismissed allegations that the proposed legislation was meant to benefit the corporate world. The 'no consent' provision in the proposed new law applies to acquisitions by the government for government or PPP projects, as it existed in the previous Act.

The Tribune