The amendment to the Land Acquisition Act 2013 through ordinance passed by the Centre has drawn flak from veteran Gandhian and freedom fighter Surendra Koulaji.
He called upon like-minded people, including farmers and those who believe in the concept of social justice, to launch a non-violent struggle to urge the government to withdraw the ordinance.
Describing it as disastrous for farmers, Mr. Koulaji said the act of passing an ordinance without allowing a discussion on the subject in Parliament was an affront to the spirit of democracy.
Speaking to presspersons here on Saturday, he said the amendment to the Land Acquisition Bill was against the farmers and some mandatory stipulations such as conducting social impact assessment and environment impact assessment have been diluted. Mr. Koulagi said the amendment would benefit the corporate and real estate developers but would be the proverbial nail in the coffin of farmers and agriculture.
A.H. Vishwanath, former MP, said the Congress upheld the interest of farmers when enacting the law but the BJP had diluted it through an ordinance.
A pamphlet highlighting the main points on which the original Act differed from the amended one was released on the occasion.
Mr. Vishwanath said copies of the pamphlet would be distributed to participants at the Kannada Sahitya Sammelan to be held at Shravanabelagola from Sunday.
