JOIN USNDA constituent Shiv Sena, who is also part of the Modi government, tonight made it clear it will not support the land acquisition law in its present form.
"There is no question of Shiv Sena supporting any law that goes against the interest of farmers," Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said in a statement.
The statement came even as Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu held a meeting of various NDA constituents to seek their views on the land acquisition bill that will replace the ordinance issued in December.
Thackeray told BJP that farmers brought it to power by placing much trust in it. "Do not commit the sin of squeezing the throat of the farmers," he said, according to the statement circulated by Sanjay Rout, leader of the Sena in the Rajya Sabha.
Shiv Sena is the second largest constituent of the NDA after BJP with 18 MPs in the Lok Sabha and three in Rajya Sabha.
Thackeray said the Sena is not opposed to industry and economic development but this cannot be achieved by forced acquisition of land.
"Then there is a need to review such an action," he said.