Sonia Gandhi targets Modi over controversial land bill in eastern India

India's main opposition Congress party's chief Sonia Gandhi Sunday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the controversial land acquisition bill.

Terming the bill as "anti-farmer", Gandhi said that Modi has been forced to bow to the will of the people on the bill, which will lapse Monday as the Indian government has not been able to pass it in the Parliament, despite issuing it through an ordinance.

"It (the bill) snatches land from farmers to divide it among its handful of rich cronies," Gandhi said while addressing a political rally in the eastern Indian state of Bihar that is to go to polls in the coming months.

She added: "The government had to bow down to us after what they saw we did. The Modi government has finished one fourth of its time but they have done nothing other than showbaazi (showoff). "

Gandhi was at the rally along with two political heavyweights in Bihar -- the state's Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav, the chief of regional party Rashtriya Janata Dal -- and it was attended by tens of thousands of people.

Setting aside their political differences, all the three leaders have united to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in the assembly elections.

Source: XINHUA