The National Democratic Alliance government’s floor managers and political trouble-shooters won a hard-fought victory in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday when the contentious land acquisition bill was passed after they agreed to amend the legislation to mollify the Bharatiya Janata Party's partners.
However, the government’s satisfaction over the passage of the land bill could prove to be short-lived as it now faces a stiff challenge in the Rajya Sabha, where the ruling alliance is hopelessly outnumbered by the opposition.
The ruling alliance got a measure of what is in store for it in the Rajya Sabha when the opposition forced the government to refer the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill to a select committee on Tuesday evening after a prolonged discussion. A similar fate awaits the coal and motor vehicles bills, replacing the ordinances promulgated by the government in the period between the last session and this one.
The opposition has argued that the amended bill should be referred to a parliamentary panel for in-depth scrutiny. This is because the NDA government has changed the bill that had been unanimously approved when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance was in power. The new bill does away with the consent clause and the provision for undertaking a social impact assessment.
Placating allies
Though the opposition had made it clear that it would not allow the government to legislate on the ordinances it had promulgated, the government's first task was to placate its allies, which had also opposed the land bill. Although the BJP has the numbers to pass a bill in the Lok Sabha without any support, it could hardly afford to alienate its allies by ignoring their concerns.
So as the debate on the land acquisition bill was underway in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, the NDA government’s floor managers were busy in hectic backroom negotiations to win over allies who had declared their opposition to the controversial legislation on the grounds that it is anti-farmer and pro-corporate.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley and Parliamentary Affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu were closeted with members of the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Shiv Sena, Lok Janshakti Party and the Telugu Desam Party for over two hours to convince them that the government had taken their concerns into consideration through a series of amendments tabled on Tuesday morning.
Naidu even called up Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai to make sure that his party MPs did not vote against the bill.
The government pointed out that the amendments would ensure that the rights of farmers are not trampled upon and, at the same time, ensure that land is available for industry and infrastructure projects without too much delay. The changes had also included the proposals it received from Home Minister Rajnath Singh from his discussions with farmer’s organisations.
The ruling alliance has to get the land bill passed by both houses of Parliament in this session or else the ordinance will lapse.
Modi steps in
A concerted effort was also made to reach out to parties which are known to be sympathetic to the BJP, such as the Biju Janata Dal and the AIADMK. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had personally spoken with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to seek his party’s cooperation in the passage of the land bill as well as the minerals and coal bills which were tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
On Monday, Modi met with Trinamool Congress head and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. During the discussions, she is learnt to have reiterated her opposition to the land and insurance bills.
The AIADMK and the Akali Dal eventually fell in line and supported the land bill, although both parties had publicly opposed the legislation. Akali Dal leaders told Scroll.in that they were persuaded to vote for the bill following their lengthy discussion with Jaitley and Naidu who explained that their proposals regarding safeguarding the interests of the farmers had been factored in while drawing up the amendments. The Akali Dal suggested that the language of the bill be tweaked to underline that the right of the states in deciding compensation and other issues relating to land acquisition is safeguarded.
While the Akali Dal had genuine concerns about how this bill would be perceived by the farmers in the largely agrarian state of Punjab, it was also miffed with the BJP over its arrogant attitude towards its allies.
“The consultations held today should have actually been conducted before the government amended the land bill but it chose to ignore us,” remarked a senior Akali Dal leader.
The government was spared the blushes when the Shiv Sena chose to abstain during the vote but the Biju Janata Dal and Telangana Rashtra Samithi walked out during the vote on the amendments.
Wary of Anna
The Shiv Sena kept the government in suspense till the last minute. A Shiv Sena leader told Scroll.in that it was not possible for their party to support this bill in the light of the campaign launched by activist Anna Hazare in Maharasthra.
“ Anna Hazare has already begun his padyatra from Wardha...we don’t know how it will be received by the people but there is a groundswell of opinion among farmers that their land will be taken away forcibly for the corporate sector,” explained a Shiv Sena leader. “ We have to do politics in Maharashtra how do we explain our support for a bill perceived to be anti-farmer,” he added.
The amendments incorporated by the government , which eventually convinced its allies not to vote against the land bill, include provisions for providing employment to at least one member of the affected family whose land is being acquired, restricting the acquisition of land within one km along highways and railway tracks for industrial corridors, and removal of social infrastructure projects from the exempted list requiring the consent of 80% farmers whose land is to be acquired. According to the amendments minimum land is to be acquired for a project, grievances of landowners are to be addressed first in their district and a bank of barren and wasteland is to be maintained for acquisition for key projects.
However, the government’s satisfaction over the passage of the land bill could prove to be short-lived as it now faces a stiff challenge in the Rajya Sabha, where the ruling alliance is hopelessly outnumbered by the opposition.
The ruling alliance got a measure of what is in store for it in the Rajya Sabha when the opposition forced the government to refer the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill to a select committee on Tuesday evening after a prolonged discussion. A similar fate awaits the coal and motor vehicles bills, replacing the ordinances promulgated by the government in the period between the last session and this one.
The opposition has argued that the amended bill should be referred to a parliamentary panel for in-depth scrutiny. This is because the NDA government has changed the bill that had been unanimously approved when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance was in power. The new bill does away with the consent clause and the provision for undertaking a social impact assessment.
Placating allies
Though the opposition had made it clear that it would not allow the government to legislate on the ordinances it had promulgated, the government's first task was to placate its allies, which had also opposed the land bill. Although the BJP has the numbers to pass a bill in the Lok Sabha without any support, it could hardly afford to alienate its allies by ignoring their concerns.
So as the debate on the land acquisition bill was underway in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, the NDA government’s floor managers were busy in hectic backroom negotiations to win over allies who had declared their opposition to the controversial legislation on the grounds that it is anti-farmer and pro-corporate.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley and Parliamentary Affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu were closeted with members of the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Shiv Sena, Lok Janshakti Party and the Telugu Desam Party for over two hours to convince them that the government had taken their concerns into consideration through a series of amendments tabled on Tuesday morning.
Naidu even called up Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai to make sure that his party MPs did not vote against the bill.
The government pointed out that the amendments would ensure that the rights of farmers are not trampled upon and, at the same time, ensure that land is available for industry and infrastructure projects without too much delay. The changes had also included the proposals it received from Home Minister Rajnath Singh from his discussions with farmer’s organisations.
The ruling alliance has to get the land bill passed by both houses of Parliament in this session or else the ordinance will lapse.
Modi steps in
A concerted effort was also made to reach out to parties which are known to be sympathetic to the BJP, such as the Biju Janata Dal and the AIADMK. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had personally spoken with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to seek his party’s cooperation in the passage of the land bill as well as the minerals and coal bills which were tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
On Monday, Modi met with Trinamool Congress head and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. During the discussions, she is learnt to have reiterated her opposition to the land and insurance bills.
The AIADMK and the Akali Dal eventually fell in line and supported the land bill, although both parties had publicly opposed the legislation. Akali Dal leaders told Scroll.in that they were persuaded to vote for the bill following their lengthy discussion with Jaitley and Naidu who explained that their proposals regarding safeguarding the interests of the farmers had been factored in while drawing up the amendments. The Akali Dal suggested that the language of the bill be tweaked to underline that the right of the states in deciding compensation and other issues relating to land acquisition is safeguarded.
While the Akali Dal had genuine concerns about how this bill would be perceived by the farmers in the largely agrarian state of Punjab, it was also miffed with the BJP over its arrogant attitude towards its allies.
“The consultations held today should have actually been conducted before the government amended the land bill but it chose to ignore us,” remarked a senior Akali Dal leader.
The government was spared the blushes when the Shiv Sena chose to abstain during the vote but the Biju Janata Dal and Telangana Rashtra Samithi walked out during the vote on the amendments.
Wary of Anna
The Shiv Sena kept the government in suspense till the last minute. A Shiv Sena leader told Scroll.in that it was not possible for their party to support this bill in the light of the campaign launched by activist Anna Hazare in Maharasthra.
“ Anna Hazare has already begun his padyatra from Wardha...we don’t know how it will be received by the people but there is a groundswell of opinion among farmers that their land will be taken away forcibly for the corporate sector,” explained a Shiv Sena leader. “ We have to do politics in Maharashtra how do we explain our support for a bill perceived to be anti-farmer,” he added.
The amendments incorporated by the government , which eventually convinced its allies not to vote against the land bill, include provisions for providing employment to at least one member of the affected family whose land is being acquired, restricting the acquisition of land within one km along highways and railway tracks for industrial corridors, and removal of social infrastructure projects from the exempted list requiring the consent of 80% farmers whose land is to be acquired. According to the amendments minimum land is to be acquired for a project, grievances of landowners are to be addressed first in their district and a bank of barren and wasteland is to be maintained for acquisition for key projects.
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