Govt cautioned against land pooling

Vijayawada: Social activist Swami Agnivesh here on Friday cautioned the AP government against snatchng fertile lands from farmers for building capital city. Swami Agnivesh extended support to the farmers resisting the government.Addressing a meeting, Swami Agnivesh said the farmers, tenants and farmworkers, warned the government against acquiring fertile land through coercive methods.

The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) at the Centre and the Telugu Desam Party in the State had turned property dealers for the rich.He alleged that the Narendra Modi government had proposed to gift lands to the corporate sector around New Delhi and had brought in ordinance to the Land Acquisition Act. The farmers and the people in Delhi had taught a fitting lesson to Modi and the BJP in the just-concluded Assembly elections by decimating it, he said and observed that the TDP in Andhra Pradesh too would meet same fate if it failed to change its pro-corporate policies.

He said that Chandigarh city served as capital for both Haryana and Punjab states and wondered why N Chandrababu Naidu wanted a larger city. He alleged that Naidu was trying to grab the lands from the farmers and give them to the corporate sectors who in turn would develop them as real estate ventures. He said he would also speak to Naidu and explain to him to stop taking fertile lands for the capital.

Referring to the bifurcation of the State, Swami Agnivesh said the Central government had promised just Rs 4.50 crore for the capital building while Naidu was planning around Rs 1.20 lakh crore. He alleged that the political parties were pursuing pro-rich policies ignoring the poor. This was resulting in the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor, he said.The former Minister Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao alleged that the government was more concerned about the corporate sector rather than the poor and the farmers.