BJP panel on land bill to submit recommendations to Amit Shah

New Delhi: A BJP panel, which sought suggestions from farmers and other organisations on the proposed land acquisition bill, on Saturday completed its three-day exercise and will submit its recommendations to party President Amit Shah.

The panel met with farmers from various parts of the country and different organisations, a statement by the party said. It said the farmers have presented their suggestions in writing. It claimed the groups seemed happy with the speech delivered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in  Parliament.

The committee will now put together all the suggestions and present it to party President Amit Shah, the statement said. In a spirited reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address in Lok Sabha, Modi expressed willingness to make changes in the land bill as he reached out to opposition for support, saying they should shed politics and ego and not make it a prestige issue.

The panel, comprising seven party MPs, was formed by Shah on Wednesday. Former Union Minister Satyapal Malik is the convener of the committee. The other members are Bhupender Yadav, Ram Narayan Dudi, Hukam Dev Narayan, Rakesh Singh, Sanjay Dhotre and Suresh Angadi, besides a chartered accountant Gopal Agarwal. Several farmers' organisations have voiced serious concerns on the proposed amendments in the bill, fearing that it will be detrimental to farmers' interests.

The government is claiming that the amended bill to replace the land acquisition ordinance is pro-farmer but the opposition parties have termed it as anti-farmer and have opposed its passage in both Houses of Parliament.