Cong vows to fight land bill in states as well

With the Modi government leaving it to the states to frame their own land laws after its failure to muster support in Parliament, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi today vowed to take the Congress' fight against the land bill to the states as well.
Coining a phrase "Take in India" to attack Narendra Modi, Rahul, the Congress Vice President, also hit out at the Prime Minister's much talked about "Make in India" campaign, saying it will not give anything to farmers and that their land will be taken away to benefit only two-three of his friends.
Hardening the Congress' stance on the contentious land acquisition issue, Sonia, the party President, said the fight is not finished yet and that the "battlefield" has now only shifted from Delhi to the states while Rahul asserted that it is not just limited to Parliament. Rahul termed the fight on the land issue as one for "not only land but honour of farmers, who treat it as their mother."

Hailing farmers as "annadata and bhagyavidhata (purveyor of food and makers of India's destiny)" while addressing a Kisan Samman rally at Ramlila Ground here, Sonia and Rahul vowed to fight any attempt by the government to bring back its own version of the land law.
Accused by Modi of blocking development, they asserted that "all anti-people measures will be opposed tooth and nail".
The government had allowed its controversial land ordinance to lapse on August 31 after failing to enlist requisite support for the measure that dropped consent clause and social impact assessment provision from the 2013 law passed under the previous UPA dispensation.

"The Congress will act as an obstacle in their way whenever they stop giving an ear to people's problems, whenever farmers are not given Minimum Support Price, whenever drought and flood-affected farmers are left at the mercy of God and the price of edible items is not brought down.

"If development means benefiting a few, we will definitely act as a roadblock in such development," Sonia said, alleging Modi is trying to paint Congress as anti-development to "hide failures" of NDA government.
On the land bill, she told the farmers, "the fight is yet not finished. The battlefield has now only shifted from Delhi to states as the Prime Minister, after having failed to do it at Centre, is trying to get it done in states. We need to be all the more careful now, otherwise your struggle will go in vain and you will be driven away from your land."

Terming the fight on the land issue as one for "not only land but honour of farmers, who treat it as their mother," Rahul asked them not to believe the promise made by Modi a few days back of not bringing changes in the UPA land law.
"We know what Modiji is. He does not say what he thinks. That is why on one hand he said he will not change the Congress law and on the other asked his Chief Ministers to bring them (the changes)."
"I want to tell Congress leaders in states this fight is not limited to Parliament. This has also to be fought in state assemblies," Rahul said.

Hitting out at Modi's "Make in India" campaign, Rahul said, "Modi talks about Make in India but there is no place for farmers, labourers in his Make in India. Modi ji says there can be no Make in India without taking away your land. It is not Make in India but actually Take in India. In the end you will not get anything. Only two three of his friends will be the beneficiaries," he said.