New Delhi: When both Houses of Parliament adjourned on Tuesday morning after obituary references to former President APJ Abdul Kalam, there was confusion over when will Parliament convene next. The confusion was resolved only after an all-party meeting that was called for by Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari that decided the House will next meet only on 30 July.
The meeting overruled an earlier decision of the general purposes committee of the Upper House that there should not be an adjournment of more than a day for the death of any dignitary. Even as several Rajya Sabha members wanted to pay tribute to Kalam in the House, convention came in the way. Reports said that the existing practice was that the chairman alone would make a reference.
However, discussion on the contentious land bill continued outside the House with the government pondering over tweaking the bill in its current form. The Indian Express reports that a cabinet note indicates that the government is considering bringing back the consent and social impact assessment clauses and drop plans to exempt five broad categories of projects from these provisions.
Meanwhile, the BJP’s largest coalition partner, the Shiv Sena, was seen attending a meeting of opposition parties which are against changes in the land acquisition Act. The bill is currently being examined by a joint parliamentary committee which is expected to finalise its report in the next week.
Reports indicate that NCP chief Sharad Pawar organised a breakfast meeting with Congress, Left parties and Shiv Sena at his residence which was chosen to serve as “neutral ground” to discuss the bill. Shiv Sena MP Anandrao Adsul said: “The government either has to redraft the bill or bring amendments as per the demands. They have experienced how the bill was vehemently opposed. We are hoping the government will incorporate the changes this time.” Read more
The Economic Times reports that all parties are in agreement that the consent clause and the social impact assessment clauses should be retained.
The Congress, CPI-M and JD(U) had sought a “total withdrawal” of proposed changes by the NDA government to the land bill and had asked for additional measures to further strengthen the law in favour of farmers. Read more
The government has also come under criticism for not completing statutory public hearings in Odisha and Chhattisgarh and has resumed work on the Polavaram dam. The day after Business Standard reported that environment minister Prakash Javadekar has allowed resumption of construction work, an intra-ministry communication issued by his office prompted replacing certain words in all communications wary of the perception that the ministry is clearing too many projects too fast. Read more
Meanwhile, scroll.in reports that more than 80% of assurance made during the current 16th Lok Sabha session are still pending compared with 30% for the previous Lok Sabha, according to Factly.in About 13% of assurances are still pending in the Rajya Sabha. Read more
