Gujarat Congress urges President not give assent to land, GCTOC bills

New Delhi

Gujarat Congress today urged President Pranab Mukherjee not give assent to two bills passed by Gujarat assembly relating to land ceiling and anti-terror activities.

A delegation of Gujarat Congress leaders, led by Ahmed Patel and Shankarsingh Vaghela, today called on Mukherjee and expressed concerns over “pro-industries” Gujarat Agricultural Land Ceiling (amendment) bill, 2015 saying it will deprive the poor the land meant for them, if the legislation becomes an Act.

They termed the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GCTOC) bill, 2015, cleared by the Centre and forwarded to Mukherjee, as “barbarian” and urged the President to protect democratic and civil rights of people by rejecting the it.

“There are thousands of acres of surplus land, especially with royal families, available in the state which would go to SC, ST, OBC, landless labourers, marginal farmers as per the Act.

“However, as soon as the Supreme Court ordered to declare the land as agricultural land in a case, the state government made amendment to the Act by making distribution of land to landless as not mandatory. If the amendment is considered, the land will go to industries depriving landless their rights,” Vaghela told reporters.

On the Gujarat government sending the anti-terror bill for the President’s nod for the third time, Vaghela said, the BJP regime in the state has made sanction to the legislation an “ego issue” and urged Mukherjee to not give his assent.

“The BJP government has made it an ego issue and again sent the GCTOC Act to the President. We prayed to the president that the bill sent by anti-human government, one snatching rights of common people, anti-farmer, anti-tribal government is not passed. President assured that he will look into the matter,” said Vaghela, flanked by state unit president Bharatsinh Solanki and party MLAs.

The 35-member delegation included party’s MLAs and former MPs besides Patel, Vaghela and Solanki.

The delegation also submitted a memorandum to the President stating, the rejection to the bills “will go long way in upholding the spirit of Constitution and federalism”.

The Gujarat government passed the land ceiling (amendment) bill during monsoon session of Assembly this year, amending the present act to facilitate industries as well as civic bodies acquire and use surplus agricultural land, which was prohibited in the original Act.

Through these amendments, the government proposed to enable itself to allot this surplus land to industries as well as civic bodies.

The GCTOC Bill of 2015 was passed by Gujarat Assembly in March this year.

It was earlier named as Gujarat Control of Organised Crime (GUJCOC) which was on the lines of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

It was rejected in 2004 and 2008 by the then President AJP Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil respectively who had suggested some amendments in the provisions related to telephone interception and confession made before police officer being considered as evidence in court.

PTI