As a united Opposition lambasted the Government on Tuesday on the contentious new land Acquisition Bill, the Government hinted that it may hold discussions with all political parties to address their concerns before introducing the Bill in the Rajya Sabha.
The issue was raised during the Zero Hour and the determined Opposition including Congress, SP, BSP, JD(U), TMC and left parties criticised the treasury for bypassing Parliament by bringing in Ordinances. Sharp exchanges ensued between the Treasury and Opposition benches over this allegation.
SP leader Ramgopal Yadav said it is true that at times acquiring land becomes difficult, but a way should have been found out through discussions. “You should have taken the Opposition into confidence,” he said.
“I do not want a deadlock in Parliament. You talk to all parties and find a way out,” he said. JD(U) member KC Tyagi also supported Yadav’s demand for a discussion on the issue at an all-party meet.
Finance Minister and leader of the House Arun Jaitley said Yadav has made some suggestions in the right spirit. “Responding in the same spirit, I will convey his suggestions to the Minister concerned to have discussion with parties.”
Deputy leader of Congress Anand Sharma said since the Government has acknowledged the need to consult all parties, “he (Jaitley) should go a step further” and say “till consultations are completed, the Ordinance will remain suspended”. To this, Jaitley was seen waving his hand indicating a negative response.
Earlier, Yadav also countered Jaitley’s contention that many leaders had not read the new Bill and said he had studied it. The Bill had “obliterated” issues like the social impact on farmers following acquisition of their land, Yadav said. He also claimed the farmers now felt they are shortchanged by the Ordinance.
Raising the issue as soon as the House met for the day, Anand Sharma said his party had given notice for suspension of business to discuss promulgation of Ordinances by the NDA Government. He claimed the Centre was bypassing Parliament and use it as “rubber stamp” to pass Bills like the new land Acquisition Bill.
Jaitley refuted this charge and said 636 Ordinances were introduced in Parliament since Independence and 80 per cent of them were brought in by the Congress. Moreover, India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru tabled 70 Ordinances while the United Front Government accounted for 77 Ordinances during its 18-month regime, Jaitley said.
This led to uproar in the House and Sharma said Nehru had to bring in the Ordinances during extraordinary times as the country was recovering from partition and various challenges. The Congress leader also said all the Ordinances brought by his party were in public interest and charged that the NDA Government on average introduced one Ordinance every 27 days since it came to power.
Jaitley denied the charge of ignoring Parliament and said “no law can be passed by by-passing Parliament.” A Bill to convert the ordinance into an act was in the lok Sabha and would be brought to this House after it is passed by the lower House, he said, adding “so the new logic that is being constructed that Parliament is being bypassed is not justified,” he said.
Defending the new Bill, he said the Government has, through the Ordinance, provisioned for four times compensation to farmers for land acquisition even in the 13 sectors which were kept out of the earlier land law passed during the UPA rule.
He said the Ordinance provisions of exempting social impact surveys for acquisition for five purposes including defence, rural infrastructure, housing for the poor and industrial corridor will benefit the rural areas and asked the leaders opposing the Ordinance to read the law again.
Former Rural Development Minister and Congress member Jairam Ramesh said Jaitley has ‘misled’ the House by saying compensation has been increased four times for farmers whose lands were acquired under 13 laws.
He said the Government has done no favour by doing so as the land law passed in 2013 itself had a separate schedule in which it was clearly written that within one year, changes in compensation will be brought under those 13 laws.
TMC leader Derek O’ Brien said Jaitley had given “selective information” about erstwhile Congress Government bringing in more Ordinance and said the present regime had promulgated more Ordinances than bills during its nine-month tenure. Recalling that his party had opposed the land law passed by the UPA in 2013, O’Brien said after this Ordinance “they(Congress) are looking like angels.”
JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav said through the Ordinance, the Government was “bulldozing and trampling” on Parliamentary scrutiny because they have absolute majority. D Raja (CPI) said the Ordinance was intended “to help the corporate and big business houses.” Mayawati (BSP) also echoed similar sentiments and called for wider consultations.