New Delhi, July 25 (Inditop.com) The ruling Congress party is in a quandary over introducing the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill and the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill in parliament after stiff opposition to the proposed legislations by alliance partner Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress.
The government was intending to introduce the two bills during the current session of parliament, but this was scuttled by Banerjee at Thursday night’s cabinet meeting when she reportedly threatened to walk out if the legislations were approved.
With Banerjee, who is railway minister, asserting that she would oppose the bills if they were introduced in the Lok Sabha, “we are not so much in favour of pushing it unilaterally to avoid any embarrassment”, a senior minister told IANS.
“We were alternatively considering to introduce the bills in the parliament and then refer them to the standing committee, but she doesn’t even want this,” the minister added. He said that a small section in the party wanted the bills to be introduced.
The proposed laws are to ensure proper rehabilitation and resettlement of people affected by acquisition of their land for industry and public purposes.
Banerjee is opposed to a clause which empowers private players to acquire up to 70 percent land directly from farmers and land owners. The remaining 30 percent is to be acquired by the state government, the bill proposes. She wants private players to be responsible for 100 percent of the purchase instead.
Her struggle in home state West Bengal over land acquisition and rehabilitation is believed to have helped her trounce arch rival Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in the April-May Lok Sabha elections. Her sustained agitation in Singur forced the Tatas to move their small car project out of the state. The Left Front government was also forced to halt land acquisition for a special economic zone in Nandigram.
A Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) leader close to Banerjee said: “In view of the 2011 elections (in the state), we can’t allow ourselves to be seen a part of any dispensation that is in favour of land acquisition.”
Sudip Bandyopadhyaya, chief whip of the TMC, told IANS: “We are against the bill in the present form and feel that such hasty decisions are not good either for the farmers or the industry.
“It proposes 70 percent land acquisition through negotiation and 30 percent with government help. It may be tantamount to forceful acquisition. What is the hurry to push the bills?” asked Bandyopadhyaya.
“Secondly, this was never discussed in the B.A. (business advisory) committee of the Lok Sabha. The current session will soon get over. “