Govt, Opposition finding middle ground on land Bill
Govt, Oppn meet informally; NDA could relent on consent clause, but keen to retain other clauses
On a day the parliamentary logjam between the government and the Congress deepened, leaders from the opposing sides not only held a meeting to reach a consensus on some of the contentious clauses of the land Bill, but also decided to hold another round of consultations on Wednesday. According to sources, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley discussed the finer points of the government’s Bill with Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday afternoon. ARCHIS MOHAN reports
On a day when fissures between the government and the Congress deepened, leaders from the rival sides not only held a meeting to reach a consensus on some of the contentious clauses of the land Bill but decided to hold another round on Wednesday.
According to sources, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley discussed finer points of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s land Bill with senior Congress leader and author of the 2013 UPA land law, Jairam Ramesh, and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday afternoon. The government’s contention that the 2013 United Progressive Alliance law had drafting errors, which needed to be rectified formed part of the discussion.
The meeting — on a day when both the Congress and NCP boycotted the Lok Sabha over the suspension of 25 Congress MPs — was termed unofficial. Another such meeting scheduled for Wednesday is expected to involve a wider set of people from both sides.
Meanwhile, a meeting of the Parliamentary joint committee on the land Bill, slated for Tuesday, was postponed when the Congress and several other Opposition parties pointed out that committee member Rajeev Satav was one of the 25 the Lok Sabha Speaker had suspended. The committee, which was to give its final report on Friday, will now seek another extension.
The NDA’s outreach to the Congress on the land Bill comes a day after the 11 BJP members in the joint committee signalled that the party might agree on retaining the 2013 Act’s provision on consent but differences on other clauses still remain.
The government wants to correct the perception that it has capitulated on most of the nine substantive amendments that it had brought about to the 2013 Act. A party source involved with the process questioned reports that have suggested that the BJP members have already provided alternative legal provisions to insert in the 2015 Bill. The government does not want to withdraw the Bill in its entirety. It hopes to work with the Congress to retain some of the clauses of its Bill which do not breach Congress ‘red lines’, such as the consent clause. This could help the government with a face saver and limit political embarrassment.
In the meetings of the joint committee, the Congress has largely opposed most of the provisions in the NDA Bill except for a few, which it found to be perfunctory in nature.
On Tuesday, Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh maintained that there was no climb down on the land Bill. “A Parliamentary joint committee is a mini Parliament. We shall examine the points of consensus as well as dissenting views,” he said.
He said the government has from the very beginning maintained that it has no objection in accepting good With the government appearing set to do a U-turn on amendments to the land Bill, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha on Tuesday said the Centre was not “capsizing” to Congress and other opposition parties demand, but was honouring what is now a national consensus. “Our position... is the national position. It is the position that will ensure that all stakeholders are happy and satisfied. My understanding is that in certain important areas we have moved forward and certain other important areas we have gone with the national consensus,” he told Karan Thapar on ‘To the Point’ programme on India Today TV. The government today expressed readiness to accept recommendations of the Joint Committee of Parliament on land bill, which restored provisions of the UPA law. The panel headed by BJP MP S S Ahluwalia approved changes in the Bill including on the consent clause, that will restore the UPA law. When asked if this is a victory for the Congress and a defeat for the government, Sinha said: “Our job is to serve the people of India in their best interest, and that meets India's long-term interest. In doing so obviously we have to take into account what the stake holders views are”. suggestions from any institution, political leader, political party or farmers. Even the Constitution of India has been amended 100 times, the minister said. He said once the report of the panel comes to the ministry, it would study it and float a fresh Cabinet note.