Govt open to useful suggestions on Land Bill: Venkaiah

Ahead of Congress' high-stake farmers' rally in Delhi tomorrow against the Land Bill, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu today accused the opposition party of using the Bill to derive political mileage even as he said the government was willing to accept "useful" suggestions on it.
"Shouldn't children of farmers get jobs? You have seen in Gujarat how infrastructure got a boost and national highways too were increased (in length) after factories and institutions came there. As a result of this the prices of land surrounding (the industries) too shot up," the parliamentary affairs minister told reporters here.
Naidu was in the city to participate in a workshop on the theme of 'smart cities', which was organised by Gujarat Technological University.

He later visited the state BJP office 'Shree Kamlam' in Koba area on the outskirts of Gandhinagar town.
"Farmers are happy here. In the entire country farmers are not opposing (the bill)... Only Congress wants to use it as a political weapon, but they will not succeed in it," he said.
Naidu said the government always wanted to hold a discussion on the Bill.

"We all have to sit together to make this law more useful. If anybody has any suggestion then our government will accept it," he said.
Tomorrow's rally organised by the Congress at the Ram Lila grounds in Delhi is significant as it is expected to see the first major attack on the NDA government by party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi after his return from leave of absence.

Opposing the Bill, leaders of 14 opposition parties had marched under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi to Rashtrapati Bhavan in the first phase of Budget session.