Despite stiff opposition from several parties and its own allies, the Government plans to pass the land Bill in the lok Sabha on Monday and in the Rajya Sabha on next Saturday. The Government may also move some amendments to the Bill. The stage is now set for a stormy time in the Rajya Sabha next week when it will take up for passing three important Bills — land Bill, Insurance Bill and Coal mine Bill. The lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Coal Mines (Special Provision) Bill and the controversial Insurance laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015, which are keys to future projects envisaged by the BJP dispensation. The Insurance laws Bill, one of the key reform legislations, has been pending since 2008.
The Government is talking to all the parties to narrow down differences on the land Bill,” said sources in the Government, adding, “but we are ready to take the Bill in Parliament next week.” Sources said the Government plans to convene the Rajya Sabha on Saturday next for this purpose. The controversial Bill titled — The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015 — was to be brought for passage in the lower House on Wednesday. But the Government advanced it till Monday apparently to gain “more time for consultations.”
Asked whether the land Bill would have changes demanded by the Opposition and several other organisations, a senior Minister said, “Yes, these would reflect in the Bill.” He said the Government would walk extra-mile, but core issues would not be compromised. However, he did not elaborated as what constitute “core issues”.
Two senior BJP Ministers — M Venkaiah Naidu and Arun Jaitley — have been tasked to bring Opposition parties round to Government’s viewpoint on the Bill. Jaitley was specifically dealing with the main Opposition Congress, sources said. When the Bill was introduced in the lok Sabha last week, it met with vociferous protests by the entire Opposition. NDA allies — Raju Shetty’s Shetkari Sangathana, Shiv Sena, Shrimoni Akali Dal and lok Janshakti Party — too sought to bring changes in the Bill.
The Government, however, claimed that all allies were “on board” on the issue. The Opposition has been protesting that they were not consulted on the Bill, which, according to them, was anti-farmer and favoured some corporate houses. In an informal talk with the media, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu rejected charges from Opposition’s leaders that the Government was acting arrogantly and not consulting them on important legislation.
“Our party and leaders have been at the receiving end of the most bitter criticism and allegations over the years,” he said, adding, “If we return the same, it cannot be treated as arrogance.” Meanwhile, fast pacing the legislation on crucial issues, the Government was able to push two Bills in the lok Sabha. The long-pending Insurance Bill, a key economic reform legislation providing for raising foreign investment cap to 49 per cent, was passed in the lok Sabha with the Government insisting that the measure is crucial for expanding the penetration of insurance in the country.
The lower House passed the Coal Mines Bill to replace Ordinance concerned. The main purpose of the Ordinances, which are now being replaced by the Bill, was to overcome acute shortage of coal in core sectors and ensure energy security. They facilitated allocation of coal mines to steel, cement and power utilities which are vital for development, Union Power Minister Piush Goyal said.
Giving the rationale for bringing the Ordinances, Goel said pursuant to the Supreme Court cancelling the blocks, mining had stopped and coal output had hit a low. “Economic activity would have been impacted. It was very essential that the Ordinances be brought so that coal production continues,” he said. Assuring States that their interests would be taken care of, Goyal said upfront fees as well as their share in royalty payment would go to the States. The controversial Insurance laws (Amendment) Bill, which also seeks to replace an Ordinance, provides for imprisonment up to 10 years for selling policies without registration with the regulator IRDA.
The proposed legislation will also allow PSU general insurers to raise funds from the capital market and provides for increased penalty to deter multilevel marketing of insurance products. Justifying the decision to raise the cap from 26 per cent, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said the country needs this as “our insurance penetration is low.”