Displaced people’s organisations from across the country took out a protest rally in front of the Parliament on Thursday after a three-day dharna against the new land acquisition Bill.

People affected by the proposed nuclear projects such as Kudankulam, Jaitapur, Haripur and Gorakhpur and thermal power projects from Maharashtra joined the dharna at Janata Mantar here, which drew support from several members of Parliament from different political parties.

The protesters decried the Union Minister for Rural Development, Jairam Ramesh’s refusal to meet them, a release issued by the National Association of People’s Movement said.

P Rajeev, a CPI (M) MP from Kerala, who was a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development, addressed the dharna and wondered how the Minister could openly proclaim that they would not accept some of the key recommendations of an all-party committee on the Bill.

Ridiculing the Government allocation of Rs 12,000 crore in the name of adivasi welfare, BD Sharma (former SC & ST Commissioner) said that the UPA Government was not interested in the indigenous people of this country. “The UN Declaration in 2007 makes it clear that the indigenous people are the rightful owners of the over-ground resources and underground minerals,’ he said.

Sanjay Nirupam, a Congress MP from Malad in Mumbai, also joined in support, the release added.

> aditi.n@thehindu.co.in

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