New Delhi: The Budget Session of Prime Minister led Narendra Modi had been started in Parliament from today.
In this Session, the only real issue relates to the ordinances issued after the winter session. The opposition is mighty miffed about it.
Notify that after the washout of the winter session, when assorted Sadhvis and Sakshi Maharajs grabbed the headlines, making it easy for the opposition in the Rajya Sabha to prevent any business in the house.
Meanwhile, Modi has spared no effort to avoid giving the opposition an excuse to disrupt the house, especially the Rajya Sabha, where the NDA is far short of a majority.
Apart from the budget, there are three important markers for deciding how successful the government has been in getting the opposition to play ball: the insurance FDI bill, the coal mines amendment bill (which enables the allotment of mines for captive use to private companies), and the land acquisition bill.
The first two are possible with some effective coordination with the Congress party, but the last one (the land bill) is dead on arrival. The opposition is unlikely to give the government a free run with the land bill, come what may.
The issue which is likely to generate most heat is the Land Acquisition Ordinance, which President Pranab Mukherjee, in his address to both houses of parliament today (23 February), has indicated the government is keen to legislate.
Mukherjee said, “My Government attaches paramount importance to safeguard the interest of farmers and families affected by land acquisition. While taking utmost care to protect the interest of farmers, including their compensation entitlements, the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act has been suitably refined to minimise certain procedural difficulties in acquisition of land inevitably required for critical public projects of infrastructure and for creation of basic amenities like rural housing, schools and hospitals, particularly in remote areas.”
In fact, the longer the Rajya Sabha delays the legislation, the better it is for the government, for the second phase of the coal mine auctions begins on 25 February, when 19 non-operative mines will be offered for allotment to the highest bidders.
In short, barring a major goof-up, the coal mines bills should go through.
The biggest headache for the government is the Land Acquisition Ordinance. Venkaiah Naidu told the all-party meeting that the government was willing to address all concerns of the opposition about the bills, but the chances are the opposition, newly emboldened by the BJP’s defeat in the Delhi assembly elections, will want to give the government a bloody nose once more.
Naidu said, “Several state governments cutting across party lines have expressed difficulties in land acquisition for development projects under the Act of 2013 and sought modifications.”
The government’s best chance is to set up a joint select committee of parliament in the Lok Sabha to recommend changes in the land ordinance, and let it lapse. It is not going to pass in its current form. A joint session of parliament can happen only if the Rajya Sabha specifically rejects it, but the house can delay the inevitable for at least six months. So a joint committee is the best bet.
Bureau Report
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