The government tabled the re-promulgated Land Ordinance in the Lok Sabha on Monday amid strong protests from a united Opposition.
The ordinance was re-promulgated with nine amendments on April 3, after the Rajya Sabha did not approve the Bill passed by the Lok Sabha during first leg of the Budget session.
Accordingly, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy tabled the copy of the ordinance in the Lok Sabha after Question Hour.
However, agitated members of the Congress, Left, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and others stormed into the Well of the House in the presence of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, raising slogans such as ‘Withdraw the Bill’ and ‘Down with the Anti-farmer Government’ and terming the re-promulgation a ‘Murder of Democracy’.
On Sunday, Rahul Gandhi had voiced his anger against the Bill at a rally of around 70,000 people in Delhi.
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan’s efforts to pacify the members failed after which she adjourned the house till 2 pm.
Meanwhile, when asked if the Congress was open to negotiations on the issue, senior leader Veerappa Moily said: “I see no symptom of openness for any serious negotiation by the government so far.”
However, Jithender Reddy, leader of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi in the Lok Sabha, said his party is ‘neutral’ on the issue. “We do not want to annoy either the government or the farmers,” he added.
The Bill, titled ‘Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015,’ will first be introduced in the Lok Sabha and will then be taken up by the Rajya Sabha, in this session.
However, considering that the government is in a minority in the Upper House and given the strong opposition by the Congress, it will be tough to get the Bill passed to replace the ordinance. The ordinance will lapse in June, while the session is till May 8. The government has two options — it can either convene a joint session or re-promulgate the ordinance again.
Joint session not ruled out Asked about the possibility of a joint session, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said a call would be taken in due course.
He appealed to the Congress not to be adamant.
It may be noted that a joint session will be called if the Rajya Sabha rejects the Bill or keeps it pending for six months from the date of the Lok Sabha sending it.
The new Land Ordinance includes all the nine amendments incorporated in the Bill at the time of passage in the Lok Sabha last month.