Popular Telugu actor Pawan Kalyan, who floated the Jana Sena before Lok Sabha elections last year, is back again in the political space. Just days after meeting Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu at his residence, Mr Kalyan visited villages where farmers had been resisting handing over their land to the government as part of a land pooling exercise to build a new capital, and fired his salvo.
Mr Kalyan first questioned the necessity to acquire over 32000 acres of land and pointed out that it would be bigger than Singapore, which Mr Naidu wants to emulate. He also said he had visited Thullur, Penamaka and Undavalli villages, and the people there had reservations and doubts which the government must address.
Pawan Kalyan also said there must be a social impact assessment when lands are acquired. "We must know what impact it will have on the lives of landless labourers who live off the land," he said, indirectly commenting on the new Bill on land acquisition that is to come up in Parliament next week.
The government had set February 28 as the deadline for land pooling, by paying compensation to farmers, and had acquired over 32000 acres by that time. The government has said in the earmarked area, no cultivation should happen post April this year. In order to convince farmers, the chief ministers had announced enhanced compensation.
Asked whether he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss these issues, Pawan Kalyan said, it is first upto the MPs to take this up. And then, if necessary and if issues are not resolved, he would take some steps.
Pawan Kalyan also said the government's orders to stop all cultivation at one go in the new capital development region is wrong. "The capital will be developed only in phases. So stopping cultivation can also happen in phases," he argued.
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