PM blames BJP for helping UPA's land bill

Caught in a stiff opposition to the land bill that has stalled its passage from the parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held the BJP guilty of supporting the legislation that the UPA had hurriedly drafted closer to 2014 elections to reap political dividends.

The Congress, however, came up with its worst performance in polls, managing only 44 seats, while Modi came to power with more than a thumping majority. 

“You should understand its history. The land acquisition bill is being considered after 120 years. Whether even 120 hours were devoted to consider such an old legislation? It was not. It is not that the only the Congress is responsible for it. We (BJP) are also responsible because we had supported it,” said Modi in an interview to a leading Hindi newspaper.

He was chief minister of Gujarat when the UPA conceived the bill and brought it in Parliament for discussion. “Elections were approaching and the (Parliament) session had to be completed. That is why the decision was taken in a hurry. Later, every state realised it is a big problem,” he said
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He said that after he took over as PM, almost all chief ministers told him to “correct” anomalies in the land acquisition bill failing which “we will be nowhere”.