JOIN USThe Congress party on Monday said it will vote against the Land Acquisition Bill in the Lok Sabha if the government refused to refer the controversial draft legislation to a Parliamentary standing committee for scrutiny.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Congress’s Parliamentary Affairs Committee chaired by party president Sonia Gandhi.
The Congress members in the Lok Sabha were also present at the meeting on Monday evening.
The Congress party also decided to issue a whip to all its members to be present in the Lok Sabha and vote against the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill expected to be taken up for passing on Tuesday.
The Congress holds the original law, enacted in 2013, close to its heart claiming that it was passed after holding widest possible consultations. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had also made a strong pitch for the law that had replaced the land acquisition law enacted in British India way back in 1894.
“We will vote against the bill in the Lok Sabha if the government fails to revert to the original bill of 2013 or sends the new bill to the Standing Committee for consideration,” Congress whip in Lok Sabha K C Venugopal said after the meeting.
The party has accused the “adamant” stand taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for escalation of the confrontation with the opposition.
The Congress also dubbed as “perfunctory” the government’s efforts to “reach out” to the opposition.