If land Bill has anything against farmers, I’m ready to change it, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was replying to a debate on the Presidential speech.

Land Acquisition Bill: Modi govt has agreed to make changes in the bill.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the government is ready to make changes in the controversial Land Act, against which the opposition and rights activists have been protesting saying it is anti-farmer.

“If the bill has anything against farmers, we are ready to change it,” Modi said in the Lok Sabha while replying to a debate on the motion of thanks to the presidential address.

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The government, under fire from the opposition and the rights groups which have alleged that the Bill in its present form would hurt the farmers’ interests, was reluctant to make any changes to the Act saying that tougher clauses would be a hurdle for the industries and it would hamper the investment atmosphere.

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However, the Bharatiya Janata Party does not want the government to have a pro-corporate and anti-farmer image, especially as they are preparing for key elections in Bihar later this year.

Party president Amit Shah has appointed an eight member committee to get the farmers’ view on the bill. The farmer leaders of the BJP have already conveyed their anguish over the certain clauses in the new Act.

The land Act, brought as an ordinance on December 31, has amended the existing law passed by the UPA government in 2013. In the new version, the government has taken away the need of taking consent of the land owners and carrying out social economic assessment (SIA) for acquiring land under certain categories. Three of its allies, Shiv Sena, Shormani Akali Dal and LJP also have raised opposition to these clauses in the act.

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HERE ARE THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM MODI’S SPEECH IN PARLIAMENT