New Delhi: With the Modi government leaving it to the states to frame their own land laws after its failure to muster support in Parliament, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi on Sunday vowed to take the Congress’ fight against the land bill to the states as well.
Coining a phrase “Take in India” to attack Narendra Modi, Rahul, the Congress Vice President, also hit out at the Prime Minister’s much talked about “Make in India” campaign, saying it will not give anything to farmers and that their land will be taken away to benefit only two-three of his friends.
Hardening the Congress’ stance on the contentious land acquisition issue, Sonia, the party President, said the fight is not finished yet and that the “battlefield” has now only shifted from Delhi to the states while Rahul asserted that it is not just limited to Parliament. Rahul termed the fight on the land issue as one for “not only land but honour of farmers, who treat it as their mother.”
Hailing farmers as “annadata and bhagyavidhata (purveyor of food and makers of India’s destiny)” while addressing a Kisan Samman rally at Ramlila Ground here, Sonia and Rahul vowed to fight any attempt by the government to bring back its own version of the land law.
Accused by Modi of blocking development, they asserted that “all anti-people measures will be opposed tooth and nail”.
The government had allowed its controversial land ordinance to lapse on August 31 after failing to enlist requisite support for the measure that dropped consent clause and social impact assessment provision from the 2013 law passed under the previous UPA dispensation.
“The Congress will act as an obstacle in their way whenever they stop giving an ear to people’s problems, whenever farmers are not given Minimum Support Price, whenever drought and flood-affected farmers are left at the mercy of God and the price of edible items is not brought down.
“If development means benefiting a few, we will definitely act as a roadblock in such development,” Sonia said, alleging Modi is trying to paint Congress as anti-development to “hide failures” of NDA government.
On the land bill, she told the farmers, “the fight is yet not finished.
The battlefield has now only shifted from Delhi to states as the Prime Minister, after having failed to do it at Centre, is trying to get it done in states. We need to be all the more careful now, otherwise your struggle will go in vain and you will be driven away from your land.”
Terming the fight on the land issue as one for “not only land but honour of farmers, who treat it as their mother,” Rahul asked them not to believe the promise made by Modi a few days back of not bringing changes in the UPA land law.
“We know what Modiji is. He does not say what he thinks. That is why on one hand he said he will not change the Congress law and on the other asked his Chief Ministers to bring them (the changes).” “I want to tell Congress leaders in states this fight is not limited to Parliament. This has also to be fought in state assemblies,” Rahul said.
Hitting out at Modi’s “Make in India” campaign, Rahul said, “Modi talks about Make in India but there is no place for farmers, labourers in his Make in India. Modi ji says there can be no Make in India without taking away your land. It is not Make in India but actually Take in India. In the end you will not get anything. Only two three of his friends will be the beneficiaries,” he said.
Rahul said Modi’s decision not to press for repromulgation of the ordinance for the fourth time is “definitely a victory for Congress but before that it is the victory of farmers of India”.
He said the 44 MPs of Congress could successfully fight against the government only because they were backed by the strength of farmers.
Sonia Gandhi said the government had to “bow down” on the land ordinance and allow it to lapse due to the support from the farming community to Congress’ fight against the measure.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not realize the seriousness of this agitation and ignored it but he had to bow down when the strength the ‘hand’ (Congress’ election symbol) and the ‘hal’ (farmer’s plough) came together,” she said.
Accusing Modi of not involving the youth and farmers while making policies for them, Rahul said only industrialists, the rich and bureaucrats were engaged in decision-making.
The Prime Minister is working only for his “few friends in suit boot” and paying no attention to farmers, he said.
Rahul also spoke about the plight of labourers at Alang ship-breaking yard in Bhavnagar in Gujarat to emphasise that ‘Gujarat model’ is not for the labourers and the downtrodden.
He alleged labourers engaged in dismantling ships and boats at Alang die early due to radioactive poisoning and there is no law to protect them.
Sonia said the Modi government had failed on “all counts” and that she felt like “pitying and laughing” at Modi’s allegation that Congress was blocking his development agenda.
“Can a country, which fought for the freedom of the nation, made sacrifices, built the modern India be an obstacle in the path of development? “If development means benefiting only a few people, leaving out the majority, we will definitely act as a roadblock in such development,” she said.
The Congress president also accused the Modi government of creating tension in society.
“It is promoting activities, which aim at deflecting attention from real issues and creating tension in society, which is the biggest danger for the unity of the nation. It’s the biggest challenge for us and we are ready to make any sacrifice to halt this,” she said. (PTI)
