PM Modi-led government scam free, but must win farmer trust: Deve Gowda

BENGALURU: Former PM HD Deve Gowda has said that the blot on a ‘scam-free’ one-year of PM Narendra Modi was his inability to ‘earn the trust’ of farmers. Gowda, who has projected himself as a humble farmer told ET in an interview that Modi should act against land grabbers to earn the goodwill of farmers.

“Promulgating the ordinance for the third time will not earn investors’ trust or create a good climate for industrial development, which is essential.

Instead, the PM should act against project promoters who have wrongfully grabbed agricultural land, like in the case of the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor project in Karnataka. Such action will bring farmers to his side and help him get land to complete his dream projects including smart cities,” Gowda said.

According to Gowda, the UPA bill’s clause of 80% consent for procuring land for projects was impractical and would hit growth. “The BJP supported this bill, which was pushed through by Rahul Gandhi, only because its leaders Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley were fighting for farmers against the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh over land acquisition for the Yamuna Expressway,” Gowda alleged.