Hailing the passage of Food Security Bill and the land Acquisition Bill in Parliament, former Punjab Chief Minister and permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday termed these as “epochal decisions which will change the destiny of crores of Indians living across the country”.
Capt Amarinder, in a statement, congratulated the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for these historic legislations which “seek to secure and safeguard the rights of farmers and landowners on the one hand and eradicating the hunger from the country on the other hand”. Referring to the land Acquisition Bill, he pointed out that new law was the need of the hour as earlier one, enacted 120 years ago in 1894, had lost its relevance.
“The new Act, while keeping provision for proper and transparent acquisition of land, watches and safeguards the interests of farmers and ensures that they get four times of market price in rural areas and twice in urban areas. Besides, it also has measures for the relief and rehabilitation of the landowners as also those who are dependent on the land,” he added.