Parliament’s Joint Committee meeting on the land Acquisition Act scheduled for Thursday was postponed after members of Opposition parties demanded a clarity from the Government on the controversial legislation.
The members claimed that the Government’s efforts to continue with the process of passing the legislation was surprising after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced in his radio broadcast Mann ki Baat that the Ordinance will not be reissued.
In a letter addressed to chairman of the Joint Committee SS Ahluwalia (BJP), NCP chief Sharad Pawar, SP’s Ram Gopal Yadav and Congress’ Digivijay Singh, Jairam Ramesh and KV Thomas objected to holding of the meeting till PM Modi makes a statement in the Parliament on what Government proposes to do with amendments to the land Bill.
“The Prime Minister in his Mann ki Baat of August 30, 2015, has categorically stated that he is withdrawing the amendments to RFCTlARR Act, 2013. Under the circumstances, we fail to see the purpose and meaning of the Joint Committee under your Chairmanship. For us to participate in the further meetings of the JCP, either the Prime Minister or the Minister of Rural Development should make a statement on the floor of both Houses of Parliament on the Mann ki Baat commitment”, the letter said.
The Trinamool Congress also gave a similar letter separately and the JD(U) also objected to the holding of the meeting. “The Committee has lost all meaning and relevance following PM’s Mann ki Baat of August 30. By continuing, the Committee is making mockery of what the PM said. And we respect what the PM says,” Ramesh said. He added that the meeting of the committee scheduled for Thursday was postponed after the letters.
The Opposition parties have been arguing that since the PM himself said that government will not re-promulgate the ordinance on land, there was no point in continuing with the panel.
But the Government has maintained that the Centre itself has not taken a decision in this regard and the Union Cabinet will take a call after the Joint Committee submits its report. At a recent Niti Aayog meeting, some States had felt that they should be allowed to frame land acquisition laws.
In his Mann ki baat address, Modi had said that the Government will not re-promulgate the land ordinance which expired on August 31 and had declared readiness to accept any suggestions to benefit the farmers in the pending bill on it.
Giving up the ordinance route, the Government had on August 28 issued a statutory order to include 13 central acts like National Highway and Railways acts to extend benefits to those whose land is acquired under land law.