RSS affiliates oppose Land Bill

NDA's land bill is not a Land Acquisition Ordinance, but a land grabbing one, says Yogendra Yadav

RSS affiliates Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh, Bhartiya Kisan Sangh and Akhil Bhartiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram today strongly opposed a number of provisions in NDA's Land Bill before a Joint Committee of Parliament that is looking into the contentious measure.

Sources said that these bodies vehemently came out against the provisions of doing way with the consent clause that was a key part of the earlier bill passed by the UPA and also felt that the clause of social impact survey, that has been removed by the Ordinance, should be brought back.

They also raised a number of questions regarding provision of land acquisition for industrial corridor and the definiton of private entity.

Swaraj Abhiyan's Yogendra Yadav, a former AAP leader, who appeared before the panel, later told reporters that NDA's land bill is not a Land Acquisition Ordinance, but a "land grabbing" one.

"We met the Joint Parliamentary panel and put forth our points. The 2013 Land Acquistion Act had to be amended, but for the betterment for the farmers. The Narendra Modi government has even ended that with the Ordinance by striking off the consent clause.

"They have changed the language in the Ordinance, which will only help the governments to acquire land for the industrialists. Today even the RSS affilaites like the Bhartiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) is opposing the bill," Yadav told reporters after meeting the JPC.

He, however, declined to share the details about the meeting. Yadav, who is leading the Jai Kisan Andolan, said the ordianance also reflected the mentality of the government.

"If the prestige of the Modi government is more important than the farmers then they will also teach the government a lesson," Yadav said.

He said his organisation will undertake Jan Jagran Abhiyan under which it will try to connect with 1 lakh villages in August this year. This will culiminate into a march to Parliament.

In its written submission to the panel, the BKS has already maintained that farmers' interests have been ignored by doing away with the provisions of social impact assessment and the clause relating to returning unutilised land.

Prabhakar Kelkar, BKS general secretary, said in the written submission to the panel the consent of a minimum of 51 per cent of farmers must be obtained before acquiring land.