After days of washouts, the Government on Monday tried for a truce with the charged Opposition parties that yet again refused to budge.
The House met in the morning only to get adjourned for multiple times that washed out the CM’s Question Hour and other businesses in the process. lastly, acting on the offer coming from the Treasury, Speaker Dinesh Oraon called all the leaders of the Opposition parties for a meeting to end the deadlock.
“We called the meeting to ensure that the House should run smoothly. Still, the Opposition stuck to ‘discuss first’ rhetoric before moving the Bills. They have got two days to study the provisions going for a change and come up with noble suggestions so that the Acts can be enriched further. The Government is ready to extend scheduled discussion over the Bills for another day and also for division in the House before passing it. But they are stubborn without any concrete logic in the support of their stand,” said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Saryu Roy after the meeting.
The Minister was of the view that the Opposition parties should come forward and tell about the shortcomings in the Bills and how the proposed amendments are going to adversely affect tribals and other communities covered. He although rejected JVM’s demand for forming a Commission over the issue, terming it useless when the Government is in no confusion.
“They should indicate where it is hampering the interests of the people and what better can be done through the amendment Bills. But some want a separate discussion while other demands for a plebiscite. We are not in a position to admit their unreasonable demands,” clarified Roy.
He stressed that the intention of the Government was to enrich the laws further and, at the same time, also made it clear that the Government enjoyed majority on the floor and the Bills, are to be discussed in the House on November 23, would pass the test.
However, the olive branch could not tame down the Opposition tempers. leader of Opposition and JMM working president Hemant Soren, while sticking to his party’s stated position, withdrew its nominees from the Tribal Advisory Council, the apex decision making body for the Fifth Scheduled Areas.
“The Government is hell bent to snatch away lands of tribals at any cost and also through goondaism. We cannot allow this to happen and cannot remain a part of all this. Two of our party members Deepak Birua and Joba Manjhi would submit their resignations from the TAC by meeting the Governor today evening,” said Soren who also termed the Constitutional body meaningless in the State. The party would observe ‘black day’ on November 23 and has called for a bandh on December 2.
JVM and Congress also came in support of the JMM. “The amendments proposed in the Acts would leave it soulless and dead. The CNT-SPT Acts would be reduced to hallow if the proposed amendments are allowed. The changes proposed in the Section-13 of the SPT Act and Section-21 of the CNT Act would allow raiyat to convert their land from agricultural to non-agricultural in nature. By doing so, the raiyat would no longer remain a raiyat which is against the spirit of the law,” said JVM principal general secretary Pradeep Yadav.
He also claimed that the alteration in the provisions of the tenancy laws would deprive the landholders from their rights shielded under it and also that the land in question would be free from the CNT-SPT Acts as soon as it nature changes. “This is just to appease a few industrialists,” alleged Yadav.
Congress State president Sukhdeo Bhagat also leveled similar charges against the Government for the sake of election funding for the upcoming UP Assembly elections. “The Government is spreading confusion. Following the change in the nature of the land, provisions under the transfer of property rights would be applicable instead of the provisions of the CNT-SPT Acts. They have entered into a corporate dealing to fund UP elections,” said Bhagat who also proposed a private member bill suggesting certain provisions for lending to tribal.