Former Minister and veteran Congress leader A.H. Vishwanath on Friday launched a ‘Postcard Campaign’ in Mysuru against the Centre’s decision to promulgate an Ordinance to amend the 2013 land acquisition Act.
Flanked by supporters and farmers’ representatives, Mr. Vishwanath posted a card to President Pranab Mukherjee at the post box near the Mysore City Corporation (MCC) office with an appeal not to sign the controversial Ordinance to amend the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
The Centre had recently issued an executive order that sought to ease land acquisition for various projects in infrastructure, power and defence by amending the Act, which had been brought in by the previous UPA government. The order had served to relax the requirements of consent and social impact assessment for projects in defence, infrastructure including rural electrification, affordable housing, industrial corridors, etc. The higher rates of compensation would, however, continue as prescribed in the original Act.
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Vishwanath described the Ordinance as not only “anti-farmer”, but also as “anti-people” and “anti-humanity”. Claiming that the President had already asked the government to explain the need for rushing through the issue with an Ordinance, Mr. Vishwanath urged Mr. Mukherjee to block the Ordinance by refusing to sign it. “The Parliament concluded barely 15 days before the executive order was issued. Couldn’t Prime Minister Narendra Modi have introduced it in the form of a Bill when Parliament was in session?” Mr. Vishwanath sought to know. He said the postcard campaign, which is an old style of protest, had been revived to fight the Union government’s excesses. “We have told students and farmers to write to the President on postcards asking him not to sign the Ordinance and post them,” he said.
The campaign, Mr. Vishwanath said, cuts across party lines and involves representatives from farmers and youth organisations. The second phase of the campaign involves a convention to be held at the Institution of Engineers here on January 25 which will be attended by representatives from the Congress, the Janata Dal (Secular), communist parties, and farmers’ and youth organisations.
