Tewari takes on SAD for ‘forcible’ land acquisition
Wednesday, 04/12/2013
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20131204/punjab.htm#2
Ludhiana : Lashing out at the SAD-BJP government for not passing on the benefit of people-friendly laws framed by the Centre to the people of Punjab, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari today said its (government's) intent to deny the benefit of the new land acquisition law to the farmers of nine Ludhiana villages was a classic example.
Ludhiana : Lashing out at the SAD-BJP government for not passing on the benefit of people-friendly laws framed by the Centre to the people of Punjab, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari today said its (government's) intent to deny the benefit of the new land acquisition law to the farmers of nine Ludhiana villages was a classic example.
The minister warned the Punjab Government against circumventing the farmer-friendly Land Acquisition Act by "forcibly" trying to acquire land in Ludhiana under the archaic 1894 act, which "stands repealed".
Addressing a series of workers' meetings in the Dakha assembly segment, Tewari said when he asked government officials as to why was the land being acquired under the old law, he was told that the new law would come into force in the state from January 2014. He said in that case, the government should have waited for a month so that the farmers' interests were safeguarded.
"But, the government wants to grab farmers' land for peanuts by hurriedly issuing acquisition notices," he alleged.
Tewari claimed that the Badal government was implementing various central welfare schemes like the Food Security Act, Pradhanmantri Gram Sadak Yojana and other similar schemes after re-branding to claim these as its own.
“But you cannot befool the people anymore. This will become evident in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections,” he added.
