Anna to decide date for ‘padyatra’ against land bill today

SEVAGRAM (Maharashtra): Veteran social activist Anna Hazare will on Monday decide a date for the ‘padyatra’ against the ‘anti-farmer’ provisions in the government’s Land Acquisition Bill.

“The government is not thinking about the villages but the cities, the Land Acquisition Bill will benefit the industrialists. We will today decide a date for our ‘padyatra’ against Land Acquisition Bill and discuss the schedule,” said Hazare.

He added that his protest will be totally peaceful and no harm will be done to the nation’s property.

“There will be no violence, or damage to the nation’s property, it has to be a peaceful protest. The day there will be violence I will stop,” said Hazare.

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Amendment Bill, will be taken up in the Lok Sabha today for consideration and passing.

The Land Acquisition Act, brought as an ordinance, amends the existing law passed by the former UPA regime in 2013.

In the new version, the BJP-led NDA Government has removed the need for obtaining the consent of land-owners and carrying out Social Economic Assessment (SIA) for acquiring land under certain categories.

The government had earlier said that it was ready to deliberate on opposition suggestions and go the extra mile to prevent any injustice to farmers and to strengthen their hands.

The opposition parties, however, have strongly voiced their objections to the bill.