DHAKA: Beleaguered opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was set Sunday to lead a rally of thousands of farmers in the Indian capital against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s controversial overhaul of laws on land-buying.

Dressed all in white and waving opposition Congress party flags, busloads of farmers were gathering in New Delhi for the protest against Modi’s bill, which makes it easier for businesses to purchase farmland.

After storming to power at last year’s elections promising to reform the economy, Modi says the bill is needed to improve the efficiency of land purchases for factories, industrial corridors and other development projects.

But anger has been mounting in rural areas over the move, seen as favoring big business and compounding the misery of debt-laden farmers. Many of them have already suffered extensive unseasonal rain damage to winter crops, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 1404 HRS, APR 19, 2015
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