Rivals unite to put govt in dock

A section of the crowd at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday, the second day of Anna Hazare’s agitation against the land ordinance. Picture by Yasir Iqbal

New Delhi, Feb. 24: Opposition parties today mounted a concerted attack on the government over the “anti-farmer” and “corporate-friendly” land ordinance after the Congress brought up the controversial executive order to corner the ruling NDA in the Rajya Sabha.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley launched a spirited counter-attack, citing figures to say the NDA hasn’t been the only one to bring in ordinances.

The matter came up during Zero Hour when Congress leader Anand Sharma and Jairam Ramesh sought to puncture the government’s claim that the ordinance was both pro-farmer and pro-development.

Leaders of the Samajwadi Party, the BSP, CPM, Trinamul, JDU and the CPI immediately joined the attack to slam the changes made to the 2013 land acquisition act.

The Opposition parties, who raised the matter although the bill to replace the ordinance has not been introduced in the upper House yet, demanded a thorough discussion with all parties before the planned amendments are tabled for their passage.

Jaitley said he would convey the demand for discussion to rural development minister Chaudhary Birender Singh. He said no discussion should be allowed in the House as the bill was currently in the Lok Sabha.

The minister said the ordinance extends better compensation to those who give up their land for acquisition under 13 other laws. Ramesh said the minister was misleading the House by misrepresenting facts.

“The 2013 law said the 13 other laws have to be amended within a year to align with the compensation and rehabilitation package as provided under the land acquisition law. The government has not done any favour by extending the provision to (the) 13 (other) laws through the ordinance,” Ramesh said.

The land acquisition act came into force in January 2014. The government was supposed to amend the 13 laws by December 31. However, not a single law has been amended. “The government has done (through the ordinance) what they were supposed to do (by amending the 13 laws),” Ramesh said.

Sharma criticised the government for promulgating so many ordinances to enforce laws bypassing Parliament. He said the government was in the habit of promulgating one ordinance in every 27 days.

The Narendra Modi government has taken the ordinance route – extraordinary legislative powers conferred on the executive to meet exigencies – for raising the FDI limit in insurance, e-auctioning coal mines and relaxing norms for land acquisition among others.

Jaitley defended the government’s actions, saying 636 ordinances had been promulgated so far since Independence, with 80 per cent them during Congress rule. When Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister, 70 ordinances were promulgated, while 77 ordinances were brought in when the United Front government was in power in the nineties.

The UPA government, too, had promulgated several ordinances, he said.

While the 2013 law provided for a social impact assessment of projects, the ordinance seeks to do away with the assessment for rural housing, rural infrastructure, rural electrification, national security projects, industrial corridors and public-private partnerships in infrastructure projects.

The 2013 law said land could be acquired for PPP projects if 70 per cent of land-losers gave their consent. The ordinance has done away with this consent provision for PPP projects.

JDU leader Sharad Yadav said the NDA government was trying bulldoze Parliament since it had a majority in the Lok Sabha.

BSP chief Mayawati alleged that the ordinance was “not in the interest of farmers. It is in the interest of corporates.”

SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said the 2013 law was enacted after a thorough discussion with parties and the same practice should be followed.

via NorthEast Calling http://ift.tt/1zIcgEK