The Opposition parties and even the NDA ally PMK on Tuesday lambasted the Centre over its Ordinance making major amendments in the land Acquisition Act claiming the move to be “unjust” and  “anti-farmer”.

While the Congress reached out to other parties asking them to come together to oppose the “anti-farmer” amendments, TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed the situation under the Narendra Modi Government is “worse than Emergency” and her Government will not only fight against the Ordinance but will also not implement the proposed amendments in the land acquisition laws.

Dubbing the Ordinance as “black” and “unjust”, Banerjee said, “They (NDA Government) will snatch your land on gun point. I throw this challenge. We will not allow this in Bengal. They will have to do this over my dead body.”

Banerjee who rode to power in 2011 on the back of mass agitations over land acquisition in Singur and Nandigram, said “The Central Government has forcefully brought an Ordinance on land acquisition. The country is going through a dangerous phase due to the BJP Government.

Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh termed the decision as “deeply disturbing” and apprehended that “dilution” will open doors for forcible acquisition, excess acquisition and diversion of land owned by farmers.

AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh said the Congress will oppose the move and exhorted all the parties to come together against the amendments.  “NDA is a Government of ordinances. Apparent now whom they represent. Amending land Acquisition Act is anti-Farmer and the BJP is Anti Farmer,” Singh said on Twitter.

Another former Minister of the erstwhile UPA Government Manish Tewari alleged that by “diluting” the land Acquisition Act this Government has sent out a message that “it is a Government of the corporates by the corporates and for the corporates.”

Criticisms came in the backdrop of Government recommending promulgation of an Ordinance making significant changes in the Act including removal of consent clause for acquiring land for five areas of industrial corridors, PPP projects, rural infrastructure, affordable housing and defence.

“By giving up consent clause, you are opening the doors for forcible acquistion and in my view, forcible acquisition under any circumstance must be avoided,” Ramesh told reporters in Delhi. Ramesh was one of the key architects of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

“By giving up social impact assessment, what you are doing is, you are opening the doors for diversion of land like what happened in Uttar Pradesh where land was acquired for public purposes and was diverted to private builders and you are also opening the doors for excess land to be acquired,” he said.

NDA ally and PMK founder S Ramadoss also slammed the Government saying the changes will affect crores of farmers in the country. For its part, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said the move will reduce the “bargaining power” of the farmers.

“The Act increased the bargaining power of the farmers of the country which is being taken away. In one stroke the Government is in a way taking the country back to colonial rule by making the law akin to the 1984 land acquisition law,” AAP leader Yogendra  Yadav said. MDMK founder Vaiko slammed the BJP Government, saying it had opposed the Congress' land Acquisition Act while being in Opposition.

Condemning the move, Vaiko said that the intention was to acquire land for corporates for Modi's ambitious 'Make in India' scheme. He urged that President Pranab Mukherjee should not grant his approval to the Ordinance.