BJP split on land ordinance: Cong

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 25

The Congress today pointed out that the BJP’s Kisan Morcha and the Centre were not on the same page with regard to the land acquisition ordinance.

“The Kisan Morcha, in its memorandum to the President, said land acquisition should not be for profitable projects of private companies. The BJP government at the Centre has brought the ordinance to benefit private companies. The state has put conditions for itself for land acquisition and relaxed these for private companies,” Congress secretary Asha Kumari told the media here today. The party intended to protest against the move, she said.
She addressed the media after its first-round of meetings with party leaders held on the lines of meetings by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

The land ordinance was anti-farmer and even “worse than what the British had done”, Kumari said.

“The party is gearing up to protest at the block, district and state-level. The agitation will be launched after the Delhi Assembly elections and the second phase of meetings with senior party leaders, including former chief minister and sitting and former legislators, are over,” she said.

The Congress, Kumari said, had held six meetings with party leaders. “The meetings will resume after February 7, the day Delhi goes to polls, since many of Haryana’s leaders are busy in the elections.”

The feedback received from workers and leaders would be forwarded to the central leadership and discussed, along with suggestions received from others states, to decide the course the Congress would take, she added.
State Congress chief Ashok Tanwar said the Haryana Government was facing crisis after crisis, but it seemed to be doing nothing about it. “As if the land acquisition ordinance was not enough, the state government seems to have fiddled with the provisions that protected farmers’ interests and gave them value for land,” he said, adding that the urea crisis would have an impact on the total productivity.

“The BJP has gone back on all its election commitments, including Rs2,000 pension and pay scales on a par with Punjab employees. There is no sign of unemployment allowance, the MNREGS has been weakened, and Haryana’s water interests seem to have been compromised. All BJP says is that the situation has changed. The only thing that has changed is they have been catapulted to power and seem unable to deliver,” the Congress leader said.

Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Kiran Choudhry said Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had tweeted that power supply should be ensured between 8 am and noon tomorrow. “The move is to hardsell the visit of US President Barack Obama. But the government seems least bothered about farmers who reel under power cuts.”
On the urea crisis, Choudhry said Agriculture Minister OP Dhankar had gone on record to say there was no shortage. “Long queues outside urea distribution centres belie the minister’s claim. In three months, the government has not fulfilled any of its promises,” she alleged.

Meanwhile, former minister Subhash Batra returned to the Congress after parting ways in 2010 to join the HJC. He said a several other leaders were keen on joining the Congress and would do so soon.

‘Pvt firms to benefit’

"The Kisan Morcha, in its memorandum to the President, said land acquisition should not be for profitable projects of private companies. The Centre has brought the ordinance to benefit private companies. The state has put conditions for itself for land acquisition and relaxed these for private companies" Asha Kumari, Congress secretary