Indian govt introduces land acquisition bill in Lok Sabha

NEW DELHI: The Indian government on Tuesday introduced the land acquisition amendment bill in the Lok Sabha amid an uproar by the opposition.
The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill 2015 will replace an ordinance which had been promulgated by the NDA government Dec 30, 2014.
The opposition parties, led by the Congress, vociferously opposed the bill on the floor of the house. The Congress staged a walkout.
Introducing the bill, Rural Development Minister Birender Singh said: “I have received objections of the members but this can be discussed when the bill is taken into consideration.”
Leading the opposition, Congress Leader of the House Mallikarjun Kharge said: “This is not right that despite opposition it (NDA government) introduced the bill. It did not send the bill either to the standing committee or select committees. This attitude of the government of bulldozing bills is not right.”
Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy said his party opposed the bill. “This is the most anti-farmer and anti-poor legislation possible. In one stroke, it (government) has added a part in which four-five different kind of projects...It has taken away the social impact assessment clause.” “This will be a great help to corporates who want to grab the land of poor farmers,” Roy said.
Biju Janata Dal MP B. Mehtab said that his party was opposed to two changes in the original act—doing away with the consent clause and the scaling down of social impact assessment.
Responding to the opposition charges, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said: “Minority cannot dictate over the majority. We are not bulldozing.”
“It (opposition) does not want to discuss. In June 2013, 32 state governments made a representation that the act makes development impossible,” he said. Naidu said: “If anybody has any objection, then they have to discuss. We are with the farmers.”
Meanwhile, almost three years after they split, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday shared stage with Anna Hazare extending his full support to the Gandhian’s agitation against the land acquisition ordinance and said the law will make the Centre work like a “property dealer” for the corporates.
Signalling a rapprochement, Hazare welcomed his one-time protege at the stage of the protest venue as almost all AAP MLAs and senior leaders of the party joined the social activist in his agitation.
In his brief address, Kejriwal came down hard on the Centre for the controversial legislation and said BJP was punished in the Delhi assembly elections for their anti-poor policies though the same was given a massive victory in the Lok Sabha elections.
“If the amendment bill is passed, then this government will become a dalal, it will become property dealer for big companies. We vehemently oppose the bill. The current government should learn a lesson. People had whole-heartedly supported BJP in May and ensured their victory in the Lok Sabha polls.
But after 8-9 months, due to their policies, people have uprooted BJP,” the Delhi Chief Minister said.
Kejriwal and Hazare, the two most prominent faces of the Lokpal movement fell apart after Kejriwal decided to launch a political party in October 2012.
“In the country, if any government makes law against the poor, makes laws against the farmers, the public will not let it last. They will teach them a lesson. We support the country-wide agitation against the law under the leadership of Anna Hazare. We support and today as Chief Minister of Delhi, I want to announce that no one will be allowed to take land forcibly in the city,” Kejriwal said.
Kejriwal was among a host of leaders cutting across party lines who joined the agitation on a day the government introduced the land acquisition bill in Lok Sabha amid a walk out by the opposition. Though Hazare had earlier ruled out sharing stage with any politician, political leaders including CPI’s Atul Anjan and Vaiko of MDMK were among those sitting on the dais.