BackSonia Gandhi writes to Anna Hazare on land bill agitation
Gandhi says Congress will fight the proposed amendments to the land acquisition bill at all stages
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New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi has written a letter to veteran activist Anna Hazare, saying her party would fight the proposed amendments to the land acquisition bill at all stages. The letter dated Tuesday was in response to a communication by Hazare in which he requested the Congress party not to support the land bill in the Rajya Sabha.
“I am in agreement with your views that the Bill of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and the amendment bill, which is now before Parliament, is not at all in the interest of farmers," Gandhi wrote in the letter. “The Congress party will strongly oppose this Bill at all stages."
Gandhi also talked about the memorandum that representatives of 14 parties, including her, presented to President Pranab Mukherjee registering their opposition to the Bill.
Opposition parties say amendments proposed by the government would make it easier for businesses to acquire land while diluting measures designed to protect the interests of farmers who own the land.
The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015, was passed by the Lok Sabha last week but the coalition government could face serious hurdles when it is tabled in the Upper House, where it is in a minority.
Once an anchor for the protests against corruption which put the Congress party in the firing line, Hazare’s relations with the party are thawing. The party has in the past two months expressed its willingness to support Hazare in his agitation against the land acquisition bill.
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