Demanding the withdrawal of the BJP government’s controversial Land Ordinance, the Congress on Wednesday began a sit-in at Jantar Mantar.
Party sources had earlier said that the ‘Zameen Wapsi Andolan’ protest will see the participation of top Congress brass, including President Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel, AICC general secretaries Digvijay Singh, Madhusoodhan Mistry, Ajay Maken, former Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, Salman Khurshid, Jitender Singh, Raj Babbar, Deepinder Hooda, and Sushmita Deb.
“Congress is organising a mega rally, ‘Zameen Wapsi Andolan’, to oppose the BJP government’s draconian ordinance that intends to change the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 passed by the Congress government,” the party had said in a release earlier.
The party has also attempted for convergence of farmers from across the country to raise their voice in opposition to the ordinance.
“Senior leaders of Congress will… stand up for the 2013 law which was enacted by the UPA government to deliver equitable justice to the poor farmer and to empower the common man,” the AICC said.
Declaring that its opposition to the Land Acquisition Ordinance was non-negotiable, Congress attacked the BJP-led government for introducing the Bill in Lok Sabha on Tuesday to replace the Ordinance despite three Union Ministers giving assurances suggesting that all stakeholders would be taken on board.
