BackNarendra Modi taps public in battle over a new land law
Modi accused the opposition of misusing its majority in the Rajya Sabha to obstruct legislative changes designed to stoke development
Premium(Bloomberg )
New Delhi: The political tussle over the land acquisition bill took an interesting turn on Thursday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking his government’s campaign in support of the legislation directly to the people.
Inaugurating two 600-megawatt (MW) thermal power plants in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh, Modi accused the opposition of misusing its majority in the Rajya Sabha to obstruct legislative changes designed to stoke development.
“I pray to the people in Rajya Sabha. They have a majority in the House. I request them, don’t stop the development route of the country. We will not be able to work for the welfare of people without your support," Modi said in a televised speech monitored in New Delhi.
Not only does the move signal the government’s resolve to push through the changes, it also reflects its desperation in dealing with the challenge it is facing in moving legislation through the Upper House, where the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is in a minority.
While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA has a majority in the 543-member Lok Sabha with 334 seats, it is in a minority in the 245-seat Rajya Sabha, where it has just 57 members.
The Congress and other opposition parties are resisting the land bill on grounds that the proposed law makes it easier for corporate entities to acquire land and sacrifices the interests of farmers.
The Prime Minister’s intervention comes ahead of the government moving a bill to legislate an ordinance it had promulgated in December to amend the existing Act. In the run-up, the government and the opposition have been engaged in a heated exchange, with the latter accusing the NDA of being anti-farmer.
“They say we are anti-farmer. We will never oppose farmers. I asked other parties to tell me what to improve, but they don’t say anything," Modi told the gathering.
The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2015, is likely to be introduced in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing budget session of Parliament. Six ordinances including the land ordinance will be taken up by Parliament in the current session.
The proposed amendments make five more exceptions to the new and rather stringent terms of land acquisition. It made land acquisition easier for projects in defence and security, rural infrastructure, affordable housing, industrial corridors and infrastructure.
“As per the law passed by the previous government, land cannot be granted even for schools and hospitals. The poor need schools. Poor need hospitals. The previous government refused to give land for hospitals also," Modi said.
Modi said amending the existing Act was essential to enable the creation of rural infrastructure including roads, houses for the poor, schools, hospitals and irrigation projects.
Attacking the opposition for using the land bill as bait to the voters before general elections, Modi said: “One year back, the government in Delhi made a law on land for the people. They tried to get votes through the law. They fell so badly that we don’t know if they can come back from it."
According to the Modi government, the land acquisition bill aims to ensure a participatory and transparent process for land acquisition for industrialization, development of essential infrastructure facilities and urbanization with the least disturbance to the owners of the land, and provide just and fair compensation to the affected families.
The new bill seeks to introduce changes to legislation that was passed during the term of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance in 2013.
“The BJP did not make noises given the democratic system we have. The BJP was going by the traditional logic of playing the opposition," said Jai Mrug, a Mumbai-based political analyst.
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