Even as the Joint Parliamentary Committee examines the controversial land Bill, Union Rural Development Minister Birender Singh on Thursday said that a change in the legislation was needed as it was enacted by the UPA Government in late 2013 to “garner” votes for the March 2014 elections.
Singh, who was in Congress when the 2013 land law was passed, said, “But farmers did not go with the party, which had lost its credibility. Their number came down from 206 to 44 in lok Sabha.”
“Now they are again trying to woo that constituency because 62 per cent population of the country is connected with farmers. They think they can connect with them by making noise about it,” the minister said on the sidelines of an event held to launch the twitter handle of Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
Singh, who is the Minister of Panchayati Raj too, also launched an online mobile app to be used by citizens to capture photographs of various assets available at Gram Panchayat level.
Singh said that the Government was ready to consider suggestions on “any clause” but insisted that changes were brought in the previous legislation at the demand of a number of Congress-ruled states.
Downplaying the opposition to the bill, he said, “Any organisation, be it related to our party or others are not saying that the 2013 law is the ultimate. This is not their contention. They are saying that we have also some suggestions in the interest of farmers. They should be incorporated.”
“If any suggestion comes in relation to any clause, we are ready to consider it in farmers’ interest....,” Singh said when asked about the demands to restore consent clause and Social Impact Assessment.