Land bill: Shiv Sena to launch awareness drive for farmers

Mumbai, Feb 25 (IANS) Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray Wednesday asked party workers to travel across Maharashtra to aware farmers about the Centre's proposed land reforms bill, party sources said here.

Thackeray's decision came after a series of meetings Wednesday with senior leaders, legislators, parliamentarians and district-level activists about the ramifications of the land acquisition bill which could prove detrimental to the farmers' interests.

Sena MP Sanjay Raut termed the bill as 'anti-farmer and anti-poor' and said that it would oppose the bill.

He also said that the party is not against the bill, but it wants a complete debate on certain clauses before being cleared and implemented.

On Tuesday, Thackeray had warned the Centre not to "oppress" the farmers, who had voted for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the elections.

"We are not opposed to development, but if it is at the cost of throttling the farmers, it is not acceptable... the government must reconsider the law and find alternatives," Thackeray said.

He reiterated that the Sena has always been on the side of the farmers. So there was no question of supporting any legislation that is contrary to the farmers' interests.

The bill, introduced in the parliament, has been strongly opposed by almost all opposition parties and some constituents of the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.