The Congress had introduced a bill on the reduction of land ceilings, a demand that had persisted in the state since the 1960s. While the BKD was not against this reduction, Charan Singh did point to some issues in the legislation. The legislation proposed that the new ceiling reductions will have “retrospective” effect, which would unsettle the property rights as they had been decided and undo genuine transfers of land as they had previously taken place. As for redistribution, he supported preference being given to Scheduled Castes, but largely those who held less than a hectare. There also wasn’t enough land to redistribute, Singh noted, and these policies would not be substitutes for increasing rural industrialization, which would ultimately enrich the countryside. It was clear that with these policies the Congress was trying delink itself from charges of being a pro-industrialist and pro-landlord party and trying to create an image of the BKD as a bulwark of kulaks, or labour-employing rich peasants which were said to be exploiting a rural underclass Congress now sought to represent and draw votes from.