[The write-up at sl. no. III below is from the Forbes Magazine, considered to be a top-notch organ of the super (or filthy?) rich.]
I/III. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/land-bill-congress-postcard-campaign-underlines-growing-discontent-among-farmers/articleshow/47007250.cms Land Bill: Congress' postcard campaign underlines growing discontent among farmers By Sowmya Aji, ET Bureau | 22 Apr, 2015, 07.26AM IST BENGALURU: A postcard campaign by the Congress in every assembly segment in India is turning into an indicator of the growing disenchantment of the farming community with the Narendra Modi government. The Indian Youth Congress office at Raisina Road has been receiving about 30,000 postcards a day from various parts of the country over the last week, criticising the Land Acquisition Bill, 2015, even as the party builds its campaign to project the Modi government as anti-farmer and pro-corporate. So far, maximum cards have come from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, none of which are ruled by the Congress. "We are also getting an extremely good response from states like Maharashtra, where the agricultural distress is very high. Against our target of about 500 postcards from an assembly segment, we are likely to get an average of 1,500 from just that state," newly appointed Indian Youth Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Brar told ET. Each postcard, handwritten by farmers in their own language, speaks of the provisions of the Bill, which takes away the clauses of social impact assessment and 80% consent of affected farmers for acquiring land for defence, infrastructure, housing and industrial corridor projects. Addressed to President Pranab Mukherjee, the postcards request him to set aside the NDA government's proposed amendments to the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, which was passed by UPA II. The success of the Kisan-Khet Mazdoor rally in Ramlila Maidan on Sunday and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi's speech in Lok Sabha on Monday, attacking the Modi government's policies with regard to farmers' welfare, has added ammunition to the programme. "We have already posted about 1.5 lakh postcards from Karnataka. With this added impetus, the farmers are responding very well and we should reach about five lakh postcards from just our state," Karnataka's youth Congress chief Rizwan Arshad said. The Congress is the ruling party in the state. Still, the success of the campaign does not appear to depend on whether the party is in power or not. In Kerala, where the Congress heads the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) government, the response has not been that encouraging so far. Youth Congress leaders blame it on the fewer number of farmers in the state when compared to others. "Wherever there are farmers, even in states like Tamil Nadu where we have not been in power for decades, we are getting a very good response," IYC secretary Ravindradas said. II/III. http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/aap-stages-rally-against-land-bill/article7129841.ece CITIES >> DELHI NEW DELHI, April 22, 2015 Updated: April 22, 2015 17:04 IST AAP stages rally against Land Bill JATIN ANAND The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), on Wednesday, threatened to widen its stir against the Centre if it goes ahead with the contentious Land Bill as party chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal held a rally against the legislation. Follow updates from our reporter Jatin Anand Jatin Anand @JatinPaul .@AamAadmiParty volunteers were doing their job, media was doing its job, #delhi police wasn't: @DrKumarVishwas @DelhiConnect @the_hindu 5:04 PM - 22 Apr 2015 42 RETWEETS 13 FAVORITES .@AamAadmiParty volunteers were also at risk but tried to stop Gajendra from jumping: @DrKumarVishwas @DelhiConnect @the_hindu 5:03 PM - 22 Apr 2015 36 RETWEETS 4 FAVORITES [Facsimile of the sucide note in Hindi] Gajendra Singh wrote this suicide note @DelhiConnect @the_hindu 4:18 PM - 22 Apr 2015 26 RETWEETS 6 FAVORITES .@ArvindKejriwal says will write to Chief Ministers across the country against @narendramodi govt's Land Ordnance @DelhiConnect @the_hindu 2:44 PM - 22 Apr 2015 3 RETWEETS 1 FAVORITE Snipped III. http://www.forbes.com/sites/saritharai/2015/04/22/modis-economic-reforms-agenda-in-india-hits-biggest-roadblock-land/ ASIA 4/22/2015 @ 4:11AM Modi's Economic Reforms Agenda In India Hits Biggest Roadblock - Land Saritha Rai Contributor The Narendra Modi government is trying to push through Parliament a key, new land acquisition bill, on which rides its economic reforms agenda. But the Congress-led opposition is determinedly blockading it and last week Congress' Rahul Gandhi, heir apparent to the party's president Sonia Gandhi (his mother), told a farmers' rally that the bill was "anti-farmer". The amendments proposed in the new bill will ease rules to acquire land so the Modi government can unleash a series of projects aimed at reshaping crumbling infrastructure in cities, setting up industrial corridors, building smart cities, expressways and super-fast bullet trains - all of which are land-intensive projects. "India is open for business," Modi declared last month during much-publicized visits to Germany, France and Canada where he pitched to foreign investors. But land, a scarce resource that whips up extreme emotions in densely-populated India, appears to be a big obstacle. Any easing of rules to acquire rural land is especially seen as crushing the rights of the poor and small land holders. On the other hand, investors are repelled by the red tape, high costs and long timelines involved in acquiring land under current rules. The land acquisition bill, on which rides many a foreign investment proposal and numerous corporate expansion plans, can go through the lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha. But it cannot become law unless it also receives assent in the upper house, the Rajya Sabha, where Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party does not have the requisite majority to push it through. The new bill proposes amendments to smoothen land acquisition for key uses such as rural infrastructure, defense projects, industrial corridors, urban infrastructure and affordable housing. On it rest several of prime minister Modi's pet programs, including the ambitious "Make in India" which emphasizes manufacturing within the country rather than importing. The bill's last avatar enacted by the Congress Party-led government in 2013 had stringent clauses on land grabbing and forced relocation of land owners, which was seen by industry bodies as still too complicated and restrictive. Modi government's bold attempt to revise the bill and ease some of the requirements, including doing away with a social impact assessment of land acquisition and not requiring 80% land owners' assent to acquisition for key uses, is bringing on accusations that the government is pandering solely to business interests. Businesses funded the Modi victory and he is now paying back by helping filch farmers' land, Rahul Gandhi accused at the farmers' rally. Modi has maintained that his is a pro-poor, pro-farmer government and that the new land acquisition bill is a 'rational framework'. ***One thing, however, is abundantly clear. Unless the standoff over the land acquisition is sorted, Modi cannot go through with his ambitious economic reforms agenda for India.*** [Emphasis added. The message is too clear to be missed.] Indian prime minister Narendra Modi seen with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a recent visit (Image: narendramodi.in) -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
