Congress slams bullet train project

Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat Ahmed Patel has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that “constitutional rights of farmers are being bulldozed” while acquiring land for the high speed bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

In a two page letter, Mr. Patel said the Gujarat government was not following prescribed norms like holding public consultation with farmers.

“Instead of the Land Act, 2013 passed by the Lok Sabha, the acquisition of land is being carried out under the diluted version of the Act passed subsequently by the Gujarat Assembly,” he said in his letter.

“As per the regulations in the Act passed by Gujarat, the need for mandatory consent of farmers and social impact assessment has been done away with,” Mr. Patel said in his letter.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had called called the Bullet Train project as an exercise in vanity and his colleague and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had said 99% of the country’s population wouldn’t benefit from it.