BENGALURU : Social activist Medha Patkar on Saturday said, “We are expecting something different from the present government in Karnataka. It should not acquire agricultural land which may be for beautifying the city or for the housing projects without implementing the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act, 2013, which came into force on January 1, 2014.”
Speaking at the Constitution and National Unity Convention 2024, organised by the state government in the city, Patkar, who chaired the discussion on the theme, “Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles and Citizenship”, pointed out that such acquisitions are leading to water crisis and deforestation.
Reiterating that agricultural land should not be acquired even for regular development without implementing the 2013 Act, she said 29 labour laws were repealed by the central government, but three anti-farmer laws are yet to be scrapped.
The central government is playing a game by not releasing funds as well as food grains/rice to Karnataka, which is another way of targeting weaker sections, she added.
Earlier, former IAS officer Harsh Mander said India is passing through a profound civilisational crisis which is the gravest threat to Indian constitutional moralities. The minorities have been targeted in UP and their houses demolished, throwing the Constitution to the wind, he added.
Senior journalist Siddharth Varadarajan, one of the panellists, pointed out how force is being used against protesting farmers in New Delhi, attacking the freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.
Varadarajan took exception to the alleged internet ban during such protests.