Congress accuses Centre of trying to weaken land acquisition act since PM Modi assumed power

Narendra Modi. Pic/PTI

The Congress on Sunday accused the central government of trying to weaken the land acquisition act since Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also alleged that BJP-ruled states have weakened the law by not following its statutes and are acquiring land by violating its provisions.

In a video message posted on X, he dubbed the Modi government "anti-farmer" and said farmers have not been given the price of land as prescribed by the law.

The Congress general secretary said that in September 2013, when Manmohan Singh was prime minister, a progressive and historic bill was brought for land acquisition that replaced the Land Acquisition Act of 1894.

The main highlights of this law was a four-fold increase in the compensation amount in rural areas and two-fold hike in urban areas. There was also a provision that no land would be acquired without the consent of farmers, Ramesh claimed.

Conditions were also put in place for the law to have retrospective effect and, if the company acquiring the land was unable to use it in five years, then it would have returned to the farmer, he noted in the video message.

Under the law, land used for multiple crops and that cultivated several times would not be acquired as it could negatively affect the country's food security, he said.

"Ever since Narendra Modi became prime minister, he has been working on diluting the law since 2014 and BJP-ruled states have weakened the law and farmers are not getting adequate compensation. The land acquired is not being used for the purpose for which it is being acquired and the government institutions are responsible," Ramesh alleged.

"The real culprit is the Modi government, which has weakened the law and ignored its clause and is working to finish it," he claimed.

Ramesh also said, "In this video, I have put forth some facts about the land acquisition act passed by the Manmohan Singh government. Since 2014, the anti-farmer Narendra Modi has been continuously trying to weaken it."