In Protests Against Land Bill, Congress Workers Clash With The Police In Punjab

Members of the Congress clashed with the police in Chandigarh today as the party held a protest march towards the Punjab State Assembly, opposing the government's land bill. The police used water cannons to control the protestors, who stormed the barricades, insisting on continuing their rally towards the assembly complex.

Marching protestors, including state party president Partap Singh Bajwa, were taken into preventive custody by the police and released later outside the Congress office.

Mr Bajwa, who led the hour long protest, says that the ruling Akali Dal has played into the hands of the centre by supporting a "diluted" version of the land bill. He said, "The central government's amendments to the bill are anti-farmers, it was the UPA that has brought out a legislation that protected the interests of the farmers. By supporting the centre, the state government has also become anti farmer."

On March 10, the bill was passed in Lok Sabha after the government incorporated nine amendments and two clauses to rid the bill of the "anti-farmer" tag.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to the land bill in his speech in Punjab's Ferozepur district, which he was visiting to pay tributes to freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru. He said there is an effort to "mislead the farmers of India."

Mr Modi also said, "If the country has to develop, the farmers will have to focus on winning their daily bread."

The government has been making repeated attempts to bring all stakeholders - political parties, activists, and farmers - on board regarding the bill.

The Congress, which helped pass the insurance bill in Rajya Sabha, where the government is in minority, has refused to back the land bill. The party says, it can only support the 2013 version of the bill, which was formulated with a broad consensus of all parties, including the BJP.

Last week, Congress President Sonia Gandhi led a protest march from the Parliament house to the Rashtrapati Bhawan, followed by over 100 lawmakers, in protest against the government's amendment to the land bill.