Land acquisition ordinance: Critics should first understand changes made, says Maharashra CM Fadnavis

Trying to reach out to its alliance partner Shiv Sena, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said that people who are opposing Land acquisition ordinance, should first understand the changes made and that they were going to make them understand.

Speaking to reporters, Fadnavis said, " In the old law, there were concessions for Central government projects. Therefore, only Centre government's projects were taking place and not of the states."

He further added, "To resolve the issue, many chief ministers wrote letters to Centre. Former CM Prithviraj Chavan had also written letter demanding changes, and based on that changes have been made in current form of ordinance."  

On Tuesday, opposing the land acquisition law, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in a statement had said, "There is no question of Shiv Sena supporting any law that goes against the interest of farmers."

Thackeray told BJP that farmers brought it to power by placing much trust in it. "Do not commit the sin of squeezing the throat of the farmers," he said, according to the statement circulated by Sanjay Raut, leader of the Sena in the Rajya Sabha.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress also took a dig at Shiv Sena for opposing Land Acquisition Ordinance, saying the party was part of the Union Cabinet which approved it in the first place.

"There is more to it than meets the eye. They probably want to achieve something at the state level for which they are using the opportunity," Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) spokesman Ratnakar Mahajan said.