LAND UNITES OPPOSITION, GOVERNMENT IN A BIND

NEW DELHI: Parliament has become a battle of nerves between the government and the Opposition with meetings through the day failing to break the logjam over the Land Acquisition Bill with even the BJP disturbed over the fall out of this on the farmers.

Land has united the Opposition in Parliament with 14 opposition parties joining hands to ensure that the The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill is not passed in the Rajya Sabha. The efforts by the government to break the deadlock by bringing in nine amendments to the original bill have not succeeded in convincing the Opposition with the parties ---including even the Left front and the Trinamool Congress party---marching from Parliament to Rashtrapati Bhawan to present a memorandum to President Pranab Mukherjee.

Despite efforts, the government has failed to break the opposition unity with considerable confusion over how it will pass an Ordinance on the same issue. More so after an exchange of letters between Gandhian Anna Hazare and Congress president Sonia Gandhi where both have vowed not to allow this anti-farmer legislation through. “The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha using brute majority. The bill has several clauses, which are anti-farmer in nature. Now this bill will be introduced in the Rajya Sabha, but the government does not have majority there. So, the bill cannot be passed,” Hazare said in the letter he sent to all opposition leaders.

Burying the hackles of the not so distant past Gandhi replied, “I am in agreement with your views that the Ordinance of the NDA government and the amendment bill, which is now before Parliament, is not in the interest of farmers.” She said that their fight for the rights of the farmers would continue.

Opposition leaders said that on this issue there was not going to be a break in the unity, more so because of the farmers anger with the bill as was demonstrated in the last held elections, that were in Delhi. The response from the ground has made it clear that this Bill could be a tipping point against the central government and the BJP in most states, with the opposition now determined not to give in on this issue. In West Bengal for instance chief minister Mamata Banerjee who is being seen as a weak link after her recent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cannot break ranks with the opposition as her party will be decimated in the process. From Uttar Pradesh Bahujan Samaj party leader Mayawati did not walk with the rest to Rashtrapati Bhawan but is opposing the Bill.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is determined not to make any more changes in the Land Acquisition Bill despite the visible worry within the BJP about the impact this will have on its political fortunes in the states. However, the legislators and the party is being directed to go into the districts and convince the people that the Bill is for their good, and will not take away their rights. A difficult proposition as the word has spread fast, and farmer bodies have been agitating along with the opposition outside Parliament for the withdrawal of the Bill.

The government has three Bills now to get through the Rajya Sabha, the other two being on coal and minerals where the Opposition is not united. However, the Left and the Congress are opposed to these Bills and the effort by the government to get these passed on Thursday night in the Rajya Sabha might be stalled by protests and adjournments of the House.

However, while the fate of these two bills is uncertain the Land Acquisition bill that the Prime Minister has made a prestige issue of sorts is clearly stuck. More so as the Rajya Sabha goes into vacation from March 20, meets again in April with this budget session getting over on May 8. A proposal by the government to extend the Rajya Sabha session by a week to get the pending bills through was shot down by the Opposition with all parties vociferously opposing the move.

The government thus is considering other options to bring in an Ordinance again on land Acquisition. Under the rules this cannot be done while the House is in session, so it is toying with the idea of proroguing the House and bringing in the Ordinance. It will then re-promulgate Parliament in April and complete the session as it needs to pass the crucial Finance Bill. The government’s reasoning is that the Ordinance then can remain in force from now on, instead of May 8 when the budget session of Parliament is over.

The Opposition is going to oppose the move, but not create a major fuss as the Ordinance will have to be brought back for approval in the monsoon session to the Rajya Sabha. In other words the possibility of this particular Ordinance becoming a law seems remote.

The BJP, on the other hand, is extremely worried about the negative impact of this on its political fortunes. However, given the Prime Minister’s determination not to yield ground on this, the Ministers are trying hard for a way out although they admit that all options before them are not easy. A final decision has still to be taken, with the party worried more about the difficulty it will face in convincing the farmer that the Land Acquisition Ordinance will actually protect his rights. The farmers who had voted for the BJP just a while ago in the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi turned completely against the party, to support the Aam Aadmi party because of this issue. The Janata Dal(U) that has been taking a lead in opposition this and the Mines and Minerals Bill has already started campaigning ahead of the Assembly elections due later this year, with the BJP on the defensive on the farmers issue in Bihar.