Rahul Gandhi says 'suit-boot' culture won't work

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused the NDA Government of 'snatching' the rights of farmers by diluting the clause for getting their consent to acquire the land.

"The government has 'snatched' the farmers' rights by diluting the clause for getting their consent to acquire the land. We had said if a piece of land had not been used for five years, then the land will be returned. This government did away with the clause," said Gandhi.

"It took us two years to enact the Land Bill and the NDA Government has murdered it in a few months. The first body blow to the Land Bill was the consent clause where this government says we will not ask for the consent of the farmers whose land is being taken away. The second was no social impact assessment," he added.

The Congress vice-president further accused the government of serving the needs of crony capitalists rather than the farmers.

"In the SEZs, 40 percent land lies unused, but the NDA (Government) still wants the farmers' lands. Why? The government wants to give the land to crony capitalists. We asked your Finance Ministry, how many projects are pending due to land and the ministry said that only eight out of 100 projects are pending due to land," he said.

"This government is anti-poor, anti-farmer; it is a 'suit-boot ki sarkar'. If we can't stop you here, we will take to the streets. We will not let this 'suit-boot' work to function," he added.

The Congress has stepped up its attack on the government over this issue in the recent days.

The Congress vice-president had said in a mega rally on Sunday that the nation's farmers were living in fear these days and were convinced that the government has forgotten them.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi had also attacked the government on the issue. She had said that the voice of India's farming community can never be silenced or suppressed, and added that any attempt to do so would be countered with all the power at her command.