Land Bill: Congress should apologise for false claims, says BJP

New Delhi: BJP on Monday asked the Congress leadership to apologise to the nation for making "false and baseless" allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the land Bill, which it said the NDA government had to bring to rectify the "mistakes" in the last legislation. Accusing Congress of playing a "big fraud" with farmers by ignoring their interests, BJP said it should do penance for "betraying" farmers.

"The NDA government had to bring the amendments in the land Bill as the earlier Congress-led UPA government had played a big fraud with farmers. "The issue-less Congress may be shedding crocodile tears today, but the reality is that the then Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, who was close to Sonia Gandhi, had hurt the interests of farmers and betrayed them by adding Section 105 in the 2013 Act that left 13 laws out of the purview of the 2013 land law," alleged BJP National Secretary Shrikant Sharma.

He also claimed that with Congress leaders speaking in different voices on the land acquisition issue, factionalism was at its peak within the party. Congress, he said, today lacks effective leadership, policies or issues and its leaders are therefore leveling baseless allegations against Modi. "The reality is that the unpardonable gaps left in the Land Acquisition Act of 2013 have been corrected by the NDA government under leadership of Modi.

"The Congress high command must therefore apologise for irresponsible statements being made by its leaders. The party also needs to do some soul searching for having badly let down farmers," he said. Sharma said that millions of farmers across the country are well aware of the benefits that will accrue to them from NDA's revised Land Acquisition Act as the government is committed to the welfare of both the country and its farmers.

The government has made nine important amendments to the said Bill which will comprehensively take care of the interests of farmers and youths, he said, adding that the most important amendment has a provision for guaranteeing employment to not only the family of the affected landowner but also the cultivator of the land.

Sharma said that land cannot be acquired more than one kilometer off any highway or railroad for the purpose of setting up an industrial corridor and the courts will be able to initiate appropriate proceedings against government officials violating these provisions.

He added that the government will not acquire any land on behalf of private educational institutions, hospitals or businesses. The BJP leader said that NDA was forced to make certain necessary amendments to the 'Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013,' as the Congress­led UPA government had taken the entire country, especially the farmers, "for a ride".

He said that by removing 13 laws from the Land Acquisition Act of 2013, the previous government had committed an injustice on farmers and the people have already punished UPA for the same in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

"It is for this very reason that the Congress is losing popular support in one state after another," he said. Sharma said the NDA government has drafted a balanced framework for the Land Acquisition Amendment Bill as part of its policy of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas'.