Cabinet clears land ordinance again

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The Bill to replace the ordinance, with amendments, was passed by the Lok Sabha on March 10, but met with stiff opposition in the Rajya Sabha where the BJP-led alliance does not have majority. Following an impasse, the Rajya Sabha was prorogued March-end to facilitate re-promulgation of the ordinance since it would have otherwise lapsed on April 5.

Following the Cabinet’s approval, the recommendation to repromulgate the ordinance again will now be sent to President Pranab Mukherjee, who is expected to re-issue it in time before June 4.

The Congress, meanwhile, slammed the NDA government, terming the re-promulgation as a “travesty of justice” and an “affront to parliament”.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s office took to Twitter to launch a direct attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Modiji in an amazing hurry to grab land from poor farmers at any cost. A 3rd attempt at pushing the anti farmer Land Ordinance,” tweeted his office.

“Congress Party will continue to fight for the rights of the kisan and mazdoor against this #suitbootkisarkar,” read a second tweet.

The party’s communication department in-charge Randeep Surjewala condemned the “sinister design” to “surreptitiously push through” the ordinance after agreeing to get it re-examined by a joint committee of parliament. The 30-member joint parliamentary committee, which has been mandated to submit its report on the first day of the monsoon session, held its first meeting on Friday. The next round of meetings are scheduled for June 8-9.

The two main amendments that triggered criticism from most opposition parties relate to removing the clause requiring consent of landowners for private as well as PPP projects, and doing away with the need for social impact assessment, from the 2013 Act.