CONG LAUNCHES ZAMEEN WAPSI ANDOLAN IN THE CAPITAL

NEW DELHI: The Congress turned the heat on the BJP-led NDA government over the controversial land acquisition bill on Thursday after social activist Anna Hazare’s two-day agitation demanding withdrawal of the proposed legislation.

Senior leaders Ahmed Patel, Digvijaya Singh, Ajay Maken, Jairam Ramesh, Jyotiradtiya Scindia, Pramod Tiwari descended on Jantar Mantar to lend weight to the party’s Zameen Wapsi Andolan (land return agitation) — and attack the government for trying to replace the 2013 land law promulgated by the UPA with an “ill-conceived, pro-corporate and anti-farmer” legislation.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi were absent, though. Sonia was in town but son Rahul has taken a two-week sabbatical to reflect on the party’s recent electoral debacles.

The party planned a countrywide agitation against the government’s policies on farm, land and labour reforms, issues it thinks will help reconnect with its eroding support base.

Patel drew from the Mahabharata to warn the government, saying Duryodhan lost the war after he usurped land that rightfully belonged to others.

Scindia explained what the Congress stands for. “The government cannot take the land of famers without their permission.”

Ramesh drew a parallel between Jantar Mantar and the party’s comeback after Indira Gandhi’s victory from Chikmaglur in 1978. “As Chikmaglur had become a sanjeevani, similarly the Congress will get a sanjeevani from here.”

The rally didn’t attract a heavy turnout but Muhammad Khan, an organiser, said: “We knew we would get a good response but this far exceeded our expectations.”