Kick-starting a new edition of his anti-corruption campaign, social activist Anna Hazare will confront the Narendra Modi government over the Land Acquisition Bill on February 24 by addressing a daylong rally of disgruntled farmers opposing the bill at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.
More than a score of other social organisations will participate in the agitation, said Mr. Hazare’s aides in his village Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district on Thursday. Noted activist Medha Patkar would also take part in the agitation.
Mr. Hazare has been censuring the Modi government with mounting intensity in the last few days, even likening it to the “British Raj” in a blog post. He has severely castigated the hastily passed ordinance on the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 Bill as a gesture that smacks of an anti-farmer agenda, while being partial to the corporate lobby.
Meanwhile, Mr. Hazare’s aides also informed that the septuagenarian activist would not attend the swearing-in ceremony of his former protégé- turned - Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal on February 14, despite the Chief Minister designate personally extending an invitation to him.
Mr. Hazare, who fiercely distances himself from political parties, had also skipped Mr. Kejriwal’s swearing-in ceremony when the latter became the Delhi chief minister for the first time in December 2013.
Functionaries within the Maharashtra unit of the AAP have hinted that they would extend their support to Mr. Hazare’s agitation owing to a convergence of interest.
Seeking to capitalise on their stupendous win in Delhi, the State AAP too is planning to launch a farmers’ platform to address a wide range of issues.
