Congress Protests Against BJP’s Land Acquisition Ordinance

Congress held Wednesday a rally to protest against the Land Acquisition ordinance brought by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in India.

Congress leaders Digvijay Singh, Jairam Ramesh and Ahmed Patel were present at the “Zameen Wapsi Andolan” organized at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

Congress leaders dubbed the changes BJP is trying to make in UPA’s (United Progressive Alliance) land law as the “black ordinance”.

Launching a scathing attack on the NDA (National Democratic Alliance under BJP) government and asking party workers to go across the country and organize farmers, former Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh compared today’s agitation at Jantar Mantar with Congress party’s comeback after the Chikmaglur victory in 1978 which is remembered as the political rebirth of Indira Gandhi.

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Indira Gandhi won that seat in 1978, one year after she had lost from her turf Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh, in the anti-Emergency wave.”As Chikmaglur had become a Sanjeevani (life saver), similarly today’s agitation will be Congress party’s Sanjeevani,” Ramesh said.

“This is a Zameen Wapsi agitation against the Ghar Wapsi (forced religious conversions) of the BJP-government,” he said.

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Party General Secretary Digvijay Singh projected the agitation against land ordinance as a “fight between farmers / labourers and big industrialists” and asked people to decide who will rule the country. He alleged while Modi will not honour his promises to people, he will fulfil all promises made to big industrialists.

Congress general secretary Ahmed Patel cited the epic Mahabharata to drive home the point that Duryodhana lost the great war after he usurped the land belonging to others.

“They (BJP leaders) were talking of making the country Congress-mukt (free of Congress). Nine months of power and it is clear they want to make the country Kisan-mukt (free of farmers),” Patel alleged.