Adversity to land bill result of poor communication : Suresh Prabhu

"I agree that wrong communication has created misconceptions. We are now telling the people and our perception is going. Our bill is pro-farmer," Prabhu has told NDTV in an interview.

The land reforms bill has led to a unity among the  opposition, headed by the Congress, giving rise to a snowballing opposition to the move that the government finds tough to surmount.

Prabhu, however, rejected the criticism that the government's focus on introducing bullet trains is a misplaced priority when the country's vast railway network needs many other things to be done.

"We can do both. Just because I love my mother doesn't mean I am not loving my wife," he said.

The government's new rules for how businesses can buy land have prompted  Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi to call it  'a suit boot ki sarkar (government for the elite) and Prabhu says "I don't know what it means."

. "(The) opposition doesn't want us to wear shoes. Now they want to decide the dress code for the country and do moral policing," he said.

The land bill, considered to be the centerpiece of the government's economic reform agenda, has been sent to a parliamentary committee for review after a united opposition blocked it from being brought to the Rajya Sabha where the government is in a minority.

While assessing the government's first year in office, Prabhu said reports of the Prime Minister's Office being over-centralised are incorrect.

"PM Modi is not domineering. He is available for consultation for everyone and he is a tall leader who overawes," he Prabhu.