Headlines
Heat over land bill as opposition, Kejriwal slam 'anti-farmer' bill
New Delhi, Feb 24
The NDA government came in
for strident criticism over the land acquisition bill which was
introduced in the Lok Sabha Tuesday, with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal joining Gandhian activist Anna Hazare in slamming the
legislation as "anti-farmer" and demanding its withdrawal.
The
Rajya Sabha witnessed a ruckus as opposition members demanded a
discussion on the bill, leading to suspension of business of the house.
The
Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition
Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill 2015 was introduced in
the Lok Sabha amid an uproar by the opposition. Once passed, it will
replace the land ordinance promulgated by the NDA government Dec 30,
2014.
In a bid to mollify the opposition, the BJP has set up an
eight-member committee of party MPs, headed by former union minister
Satyapal Malik, to seek to hold discussions with farmers and other
organisations on the matter.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
meanwhile asked his party MPs to aggressively defend the land
acquisition bill saying that it is pro-farmer, sources said.
According
to the sources, the prime minister said at the BJP parliamentary party
meeting Tuesday morning that the bill will work in favour of farmers and
asked MPs to defend it.
At the Jantar Mantar, Kejriwal joined
anti-corruption activist Hazare in his agitation against the bill,
saying he will not allow the central government to forcibly take land
away from anyone in the national capital under the land acquisition law.
Addressing
a crowd of protestors, Kejriwal said: "We will use all our force to
ensure that land is not taken away forcibly from anyone in Delhi."
He
noted that land is a subject that comes under the purview of the
central government but his government would still make all the necessary
efforts to protect the poor.
Hazare, who led an anti-corruption
movement against the previous UPA government, has termed the bill as
"undemocratic" and demanded its withdrawal.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, speaking in Patna, hit out against the bill and termed it against the interests of farmers.
"We are opposed to the bill and there is no question of supporting it," he said.
He
said his party along with other like-minded parties would not allow the
bill to be passed in parliament without a proper discussion, and
accused the Narendra Modi-led government of working against the
interests of farmers to benefit industrialists.
In the Rajya
Sabha, the opposition alleged that the government was trying to bypass
parliament on the bill, while the government denied it.
"We have
given a notice. The whole country is agitated against the ordinance,
there are protests going on in Delhi," said Samajwadi Party leader
Naresh Agarwal.
Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien urged the members to
discuss the matter when the measure comes to the house. "Ordinance has
to be replaced by bill. When the bill comes, you can discuss."
Congress Deputy Leader Anand Sharma alleged the government was trying to bypass parliament through an ordinance.
"We can't accept that the government will govern through ordinances overriding the legislative scrutiny of parliament," he said.
Leader
of the House and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, however, said it was
unfair to say the government was bypassing parliament.
"No law
can bypass the house. My friend should remember 636 ordinances have come
and 80 percent of them came when Anand Sharma's party was in
government," he said.
As Kurien appeared ready to let the members
speak on the issue, Jaitley maintained that the discussion should be
held only when the bill comes to the house but the chair said there was
no harm in members expressing their views.
Bahujan Samaj Party
chief Mayawati, Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav, Trinamool Congress
leader Derek O'Brien and Communist Party of India leader D. Raja
attacked the government on the bill.
Meanwhile, Congress
spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala claimed that the government is
intending to call joint sittings of both houses to pass the bill but his
party would oppose the bill "on the floor of the house".
New Delhi, Feb 24 : The government Tuesday introduced the land acquisition amendment bill in the Lok Sabha amid an uproar by the opposition.
The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill 2015 will replace an ordinance which had been promulgated by the NDA government Dec 30, 2014.
The opposition parties, led by the Congress, vociferously opposed the bill on the floor of the house. The Congress staged a walkout.
Introducing the bill, Rural Development Minister Birender Singh said: "I have received objections of the members but this can be discussed when the bill is taken into consideration."
Leading the opposition, Congress Leader of the House Mallikarjun Kharge said: "This is not right that despite opposition it (NDA government) introduced the bill. It did not send the bill either to the standing committee or select committees. This attitude of the government of bulldozing bills is not right."
Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy said his party opposed the bill. "This is the most anti-farmer and anti-poor legislation possible. In one stroke, it (government) has added a part in which four-five different kind of projects...It has taken away the social impact assessment clause."
"This will be a great help to corporates who want to grab the land of poor farmers," Roy said.
Biju Janata Dal MP B. Mehtab said that his party was opposed to two changes in the original act -- doing away with the consent clause and the scaling down of social impact assessment.
Responding to the opposition charges, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said: "Minority cannot dictate over the majority. We are not bulldozing."
"It (opposition) does not want to discuss. In June 2013, 32 state governments made a representation that the act makes development impossible," he said.
Naidu said: "If anybody has any objection, then they have to discuss. We are with the farmers."
Civil society activists, led by Anna Hazare, protested over the issue at Jantar Mantar here, a little distance away from parliament.