We Are Against Forcible Land Acquisition: Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata: Expressing firm opposition to the land acquisition ordinance, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Friday said her party was steadfast in its protest against forcible acquisition of land.

"We are against forcible acquisition of land. We have made clear our stand in parliament. We are opposed to the land bill," Ms Banerjee told media persons in Kolkata.

She said, however, "if anyone wanted to give his land on his own will, he could negotiate."

Describing the suicide of farmer Gajendra Singh in Delhi as "unfortunate", Ms Banerjee said, "I don't want anybody to die."

She also referred to her 26-day hunger strike in Kolkata in protest against the erstwhile Left Front government's move to acquire land in Singur for the Tata Motor's small car project.

"Lot of agricultural land had been taken in the past. But the 26-day hunger strike I undertook and our movement against land acquisition triggered the demand for abolition of the draconian Land Acquisition Act of 1894," she said.

The central government on Monday tabled the re-promulgated land ordinance in the Lok Sabha amid protests. The Congress and the Trinamool Congress staged a walkout over the issue.

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015, which will replace an ordinance promulgated by the Narendra Modi government, is facing stiff opposition in parliament with even some government allies coming out against the legislation.