NDA govt plans to allay Oppn fears over land bill

Paswan's party also joins protest

The government plans to reach out to opposition and other stakeholders to convince them that there is nothing anti-farmer in the proposed land acquisition bill.

However, more National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies have joined the protest against the bill. After Maharashtra-based coalition partners—the Shiv Sena and Swabhimani Paksha, and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)—the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) also openly voiced their dissent over the bill.

“We have concerns about amendments to land acquisition law. We have sought clarifications from the government. We are not happy with the doing away of the consent clause. We demand that there should be a provision allowing farmers to approach courts.

Also, we want a provision in the law that a member of the affected family should get a job in the firm or industry for which the land is acquired,” LJP Member of Parliament Chirag Paswan, who is also son of Union Minister Ramvilas Paswan, told Deccan Herald.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met key ministers on Wednesday morning to lead the government's defence against the mounting opposition to the bill. The government strategy, sources said, was to expose opposition parties’ “double standard” on the bill and at the same time engage farmers among other stakeholders to hear their grievances and accept “good suggestions” received during the consultation.

Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, who had earlier held the charge of rural development ministry, told reporters that the government was open to meeting leaders of all parties, including NDA allies, to clear any “confusion” and accept suggestions.

In what appeared to be an indirect acknowledgement of the government’s failure to spread word about the amended land bill before, Gadkari said the opposition has created a “perception” that the legislation was anti-farmer and pro-corporate by spreading confusion. “It is a battle between ground reality and perception,” he said.

Gadkari challenged political parties for a debate to prove that the NDA legislation was anti-farmer. He released some details of the last June 27 meeting called at Vigyan Bhavan to consult states to point out that the Congress and the SP had taken another stand there and are now opposing it in Parliament.

“Who wrote this? It was a Congress chief minister. This party’s chief minister in Haryana also offered compensation which was only twice the rate not four times as envisaged by the law. And this party is shouting in Parliament. They put on many masks to suit their interests,” he said.