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Near Parliament, an RSS arm raises voice against land bill

A kilometer away from Parliament, the Modi government came under attack not from its political rivals but at a protest organised by the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, the economic wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on the land acquisition bill, field trials of GM crops and e-retailers.

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A kilometer away from Parliament, the Modi government came under attack not from its political rivals but at a protest organised by the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, the economic wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on the land acquisition bill, field trials of GM crops and e-retailers.

Sharing dais with PV Rajagopal of the Ekta Parishad, which had spearheaded a movement against the land acquisition bill dubbing it as anti-farmer in February, the SJM leaders said asked the government to include provision for farmers' consent, social impact assessment and food security.

Later, the "swadeshi jan sansad", which was attended by around 60 outfits, came out with a 13-point memorandum seeking changes in government's policies, including the land acquisition bill. Besides seeking a white paper on land acquired by government and industry post independence, it asked the government to stay away from land acquisition by private players. The agitation comes at a time when the government is already battling the Opposition campaign that the land acquisition bill was anti-farmer.

"The government should think of giving land instead of acquiring it," Rajagopal said.

SJM ideologue KN Govindacharya said the government was not subscribing to Deendayal Upadhyaya's ideology of Swadeshi and decentralisation of power.

"Therefore, organisations like Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh and Swadeshi Jagaran Manch feel agitated with its anti-farmer and anti-poor policies which include the irrational land acquisition bill," he said.

The SJM has been insisting that the government bring back the consent clause and social impact assessment. "We want it to insert the clauses as these are very important and must be incorporated (in the bill)," SJM's Ashwini Mahajan said. He said the SJM will raise these issues, whichever government was in power.

However, minister of state for agriculture Sanjeev Baliyan defended the bill refuting the allegation that it was anti-farmer and said that the government was open to suggestions to make further amendments. "I am a farmer myself first, and I understand the problems of farmers," he said.

The "Swadeshi Jan Sansad" also demanded judicious land acquisition for infrastructure projects, bringing into use land acquired for SEZs and Industrial Parks, social and environmental study before land acquistion and composite policy for demarcating land for agriculture, forest, industry and roads.

Besides the land bill, it reinforced the SJM's demand for a ban on e-commerce by foreign companies to safeguard the interest consumers and small industries and stopping GM crop field trials.

It demanded medicine avaliablity at proper rates for common citizen and said there should be no interference with country's patent laws under the pressure from foreign companies.

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