In its sarcastic dig at the Centre for its rigid stand on the contentious land Bill, the NDA constituent Shiv Sena said that if the Narendra Modi dispensation was bent on bulldozing through the legislation, then it must start the land acquisition process from Jammu & Kashmir. Making no bones its displeasure about the BJP-led NDA Government’s insistence on pushing through the land Acquisition Bill, the Sena stated in an editorial published in its official mouth-piece Saamana, “The Government may have gone to town with a swollen chest that it would enforce its pet land acquisition legislation in all States except Jammu & Kashmir, but its assertion has not gone well with the 100 crore people in the country.”
Maintaining that the Government had made the Bill a prestige issue, the Sena averred that while the Centre — after the enactment of the legislation — could forcibly take away land from farmers elsewhere in the country, it would not be in a position to display the “same courage” in Jammu & Kashmir, owing to Article 370 of the Constitution.
“The Government says that the land acquisition law is extremely crucial to remove impediments coming in the way of acquiring land for Government projects, defence industry projects, roads, hospitals and industries. But, the fact remains Jammu & Kashmir needs development the most and Article 370 of the Constitution prevents outsiders from acquiring the land in that State,” the Sena said.
“The irony is that the BJP-led NDA Government cannot enforce the land Acquisition Act in Jammu & Kashmir. Despite being a part of India, Jammu and Kashmir is independent in its own way since the land acquisition legislation does not apply to that State. In other words, it means that the Government cannot show the same courage that it shows in acquiring the land of people Jaitapur for the nuclear project, in acquiring land Jammu & Kashmir,” the Sena editorial stated.