Modi defends land bill, says Oppn spreading lies

Vows campaign for farmers to get their land back

Faced with stiff resistance against the controversial land acquisition bill, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused the Opposition of spreading lies and claimed that his government has initiated several measures to bail farmers out of distress.

Addressing a huge rally at the National College Grounds here, Modi charged the Opposition with meting out injustice to farmers by neglecting the agriculture sector.

“Governments in the past forced poor farmers to sell their lands to get a job of a peon or a driver. Farmers have sold their lands in order to pay bribe to get jobs for their children. Where did all those lands go? What made them sell their lands?” he said amid loud applause from the crowd.
BJP president Amit Shah set the tone for defending the land acquisition bill while addressing the national executive meeting on Friday morning.

Shah ensured that the party rallied behind Modi when it comes to defending the bill.

The Opposition is deliberately spreading lies, is the message the party is going to spread among farmers. Sources in the BJP said a presentation on the land ordinance will be made at the national executive on Saturday to educate leaders about its prominent features.

The prime minister, without mentioning that the land ordinance was re-promulgated on Friday, spoke at length on measures taken by his government to help farmers. 

“I have grown up among the poor and the farmers. I understand their pain and suffering better. Farmers living in villages also need good roads, water supply, 24/7 power and shelter. I hope people living in urban areas agree on this...But those who are spreading lies do not understand how to improve the farm sector,” he said.

Modi said a nationwide land reforms campaign will be launched soon to ensure that farmers get their land back. A new system of agriculture land demarcation will be introduce to prevent farm lands from being unutilised.

Taking on the Opposition questioning his promise on bringing back black money, Modi said steps taken by his government have silenced them.

“When we spoke about coal scam, those who were in government (UPA) used to ridicule us. They were arguing that it was a inflated figure. Yes Rs 1.76 lakh crore was a big figure. But auctioning of 20 coal blocks of the total 220 by our government has fetched over Rs 2 lakh crore. Imagine who much money the country would get if all the coal blocks are auctioned,” he said.