BJP to hardsell land bill to party workers
BJP president Amit Shah
Amidst a raging debate over the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill, for which the NDA government has not been able to drum up support, the BJP is all set to tom-tom its version of the bill in the party national executive.
Sources said the party, in its political resolution and chief Amit Shah’s speech, will justify the controversial bill which has been termed by the Opposition as well as rights groups as anti-farmer. The message that the party will ask its workers to convey about the proposed legislation is “hum dene aaye hain lene nahin (we are here to give, not to take anything)”, sources said.
The conclave begins on April 3 in Bangalore.
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“The political resolution will clearly say how the farmers are going to benefit from the land bill,” said the sources.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh Tuesday reiterated that the changes in the Act were necessary for the welfare of farmers and development of villages. “Let the land acquisition bill be passed first. If it is found that it is hurting farmers’ interests, we can always amend it. The government is ready to do that. But let it be passed in Parliament first,” Singh told PTI in West Bengal.
The NDA government has faced resistance from most of the opposition parties in Parliament over the bill. The government had promulgated the land acquisition ordinance in October 2014 and the legislation was supposed to be passed by Parliament by April 5. Since it did not happen, the Budget Session of Rajya Sabha was prorogued to facilitate the repromulgation of the ordinance.
The bill, with the amendments to the 2013 Act, was passed in Lok Sabha during the Budget Session, but it was stalled in Rajya Sabha where the NDA is in a minority.
Although the party leadership and the government had faced criticism from its ranks on the amended bill as it has done away with the clauses on consent and social impact assessment, the BJP leadership is now determined to “correct the wrong perception”.
Sources said the national executive meeting is not likely to have separate resolutions on political and economic situation. There will be one resolution. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “achievements on the country’s external ties” will be the highlight of the resolution on foreign policy.
Source:: Indian Express