NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEADABAD, JUNE 13
Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel on Friday slammed the Gujarat government over the issue of land acquisition for a highway project in Bharuch district, alleging that farmers’ land was being forcibly snatched away and they were paid inadequate compensation.
My letter to Shri @vijayrupanibjp regarding the state government’s dictatorial attitude on farmers in Bharuch district
First their land was forcibly snatched & then they were subjected to police brutality
We will continue to stand behind our farmers until justice is delivered pic.twitter.com/rNw9CAp7ar
— Ahmed Patel Memorial (@ahmedpatel) June 12, 2020
The issue pertains to some tracts of land in Old Diva village near Ankleshwar town of Bharuch district.
This land is needed for the Vadodara-Mumbai Express Highway project.
In his letter to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Patel has alleged that 35 farmers were detained on June 11 by police when they were peacefully protesting against the acquisition of their land and inadequate compensation.
“Officials then forcibly took possession of the disputed land, causing significant damage to their standing crop. The farmers had already given their consent. Their only demand is that they be paid adequate and market rate-based compensation,” said the Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat in the letter.
Two pertinent points that Gujarat govt must consider:
1) If 60% of Gir lions are outside protected area,it is a cause for grave concern?
2) A scientific method for lion census similar to that for tigers, so we can know the accurate numbers https://t.co/XYytjOjIN1
— Ahmed Patel Memorial (@ahmedpatel) June 12, 2020
“In the absence of adequate compensation, the acquisition of their land amounts to daylight robbery and is a gross injustice to the hard-working farmers of Gujarat,” Patel, a native of Bharuch district, alleged.
He criticised the police action against farmers saying that ‘such tactics of police high handedness, intimidation, and violence to subjugate and silence the farmers is the hallmark of a dictatorial society and a blot on Gujarati pride’.
“I urge the state government to end this policy of forcibly acquiring land and suppressing farmers’ rights through brute muscle power,” Patel said in his letter.
He expressed hope that the government would consider the farmers’ demand for adequate compensation.