AICC general secretary, Digvijay Singh claimed that the Uttar Pradesh government was acquiring land at cheaper rates which was later being sold at Rs3000 per sq metre by 'chief minister Mayawati's family'.
Congress today demanded a judicial probe into the violent clashes between farmers and police in a village of this Delhi suburb over land acquisition for a expressway development project.
"Our demand is clear. We want a judicial inquiry by a retired judge into this incident," AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh told reporters at the Bhatta Parsaul village here.
Earlier this week, the village had witnessed clashes between farmers and state police over "insufficient" remuneration for land being acquired for the Yamuna expressway industrial development authority project.
Singh claimed that the Uttar Pradesh government was acquiring land at cheaper rates which was later being sold at Rs3000 per sqm by the "chief minister Mayawati's family".
"Injustice is being meted out to farmers whose land is being acquired at rates as cheap as Rs800-900 per sqm. There is a bigger scam under which the land is being resold at Rs3000 per sqm in collusion with officials," he alleged.
"We are against forcible acquisition of land. Farmers consent is must," he said and demanded that the government take no action against the farmers facing police cases till the completion of the judicial inquiry.
Singh, an AICC general secretary incharge of party affairs in Uttar Pradesh, demanded release of all those arrested after the clashes.
Seeking to draw parallels, Singh said there were no complaints from farmers in neighbouring Haryana, where land was acquired for development projects by a Congress-led government.
"This is the difference between a Congress-led government and a BSP-led government," he said.
Singh said Congress President Sonia Gandhi had first raised the issue of a new land acquisition law after the UPA came to power in 2004.
"The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha but could not be passed in the Rajya Sabha because the BJP opposed it," he said.
"Later, when the new draft was brought before Cabinet, Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee had some problems with it," he said.
Singh said even if the new land acquisition bill was not passed, the present laws do not state the land can be acquired forcibly from farmers.
On the visit of Rahul Gandhi to Bhatta Parsaul in the wee hours today, Singh said the Congress party does not believe in show-off where media gets to know about the visit of the leaders to a particular site in advance.
"This is the difference between Rahul Gandhi and other political leaders," he said.
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