Land bill: NDA targets Congress again for opposing changes - Livemint

A file photo of Union minister Nitin Gadkari. Photo: PTI

New Delhi: Ahead of its move to repromulgate the controversial land ordinance, the government launched a fresh political offensive against the Congress, the principal opponent to any changes in the land law.

Claiming that Congress president Sonia Gandhi was avoiding a public debate on the subject, the minister for road transport, highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari accused the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson of favouring populism over development.

In his second letter to Gandhi in less than two weeks, a copy of which was released to the media, Gadkari argued that during the 10 years of UPA rule at the Centre, employment opportunities for the youth dried up, growth slowed, infrastructure bottlenecks emerged and the agricultural situation worsened —forcing some farmers to commit suicide.

“You (Sonia Gandhi) don’t want to have a debate on the issue of land acquisition bill, but debates on issues of public interest are important in a democracy. We should not run away from debates,” wrote the minister, before adding, “We feel that there should be no politics on issues of public interest and there should be decision on the basis of national interest.”

Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) stepped up its attacks against the Congress, it was also reaching out to other political parties such as the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to back the legislation. In the process, the NDA was looking to politically isolate the Congress.

The Congress on Monday said that Gadkari’s letter and invitation of debate was in “vested interests” of corporates. “According to Gadkari, what is national interest? Is it taking care of corporates at the cost of the well-being of farmers? The Congress party has, in both the terms of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, brought laws to strengthen people’s rights including Right to Information, food security and the land bill,” said Bhakta Charan Das , spokesperson of the Congress.

The minister said in the letter that under the land acquisition bill legislated by the UPA, it could not acquire even one acre of land for building rural roads, irrigation projects, power generation, construction of schools and hospitals. He futher pointed out that Prithviraj Chavan , former Maharashtra chief minister of Congress, had demanded that the bill be studied by a group of chief ministers. However, the Congress leadership had rejected the proposal.

The NDA has been pushing for a dilution of several provisions in the existing land law.

While the Lok Sabha has approved the amendments, the Rajya Sabha has proved to be a stumbling block.

The Congress together with the Left has drummed up strong political resistance. The NDA with 57 members of Parliament (MPs) is in a minority in the 245-member upper house of Parliament.

“BJP has a major disadvantage in the Rajya Sabha where it is in minority. The party is trying to sort out this disadvantage by trying to invite political parties for a debate. It is a well thought-strategy of the government to convey to political parties that it was ready to accept their recommendations and changes in the bill,” said Bidyut Chakrabarty , who teaches political science at Delhi University.

The NDA was able to break the legislative deadlock in the Rajya Sabha by managing to break the united opposition.

With the SP, the BSP and other political parties choosing to vote in favour or abstain, the NDA was able to overcome its handicap in the Rajya Sabha and managed to get its nod to ratify five of the six ordinances that it had promulgated in December.

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