The second leg of Budget session began on Monday. All eyes were on Congress’s best bet Rahul Gandhi who finally spoke from the opposition benches on the controversial Land Acquisition Bill. He called the Modi government ‘pro-corporate and anti-farmer’ and vowed to stop the passage of the bill. Talking to CNBC-TV18, Shekhar Gupta, vice-chairman of India Today Group, said that Rahul Gandhi did bring back the required energy in his first-ever representation as opposition leader, but concentrated on the plight of farmers.
The unseasonal rains that caused havoc for farming community may not be related to land acquisition, but are portrayed together to highlight government’s apathy towards the farming community. According to Gupta, the current Land Bill is a better version of the previous ones. It is more pro-farmer. Since the bill was pushed in early, it depicted the government as arrogant, analysed Gupta. The government will try its best to make the law into an Act despite oppositions from Congress.
Talking about the GST Bill, which is also likely to be tabled in this session, Gupta said it will be easier to pass because the Congress too has been pushing for it. Add to that, now most of the states have BJP government and places like Tamil Nadu and Orissa will willingly cooperate with NDA government. Getting a majority on it will not be difficult.
The present government is not rightist, but more liberal. They have already brought in major reforms in the Mining Act. “The government is willing to think big on infrastructure,” he said adding talks on poverty will be prevalent as we move.
However, AK Bhattacharya, editor of Business Standard, believes the Congress has toughened their stand on the land bill and is not likely to budge. The bill will go to the standing committee due to insufficient votes in Rajya Sabha (RS). The only solution is if the ruling party and Opposition decide to meet mid-way in order to minimize the problems. Consultations in RS will depend upon the meetings that BJP will conduct outside the Parliament.
“Fate of the Land Bill seems uncertain as of now. I don’t see anything happening in this session, “said Bhattacharya,. As per the constitutional provisions, the bill needs to be defeated in both houses before it goes to the Standing Committee.
Congress is trying to prolong and disrupt the session to ensure that the bill is not passed, he added. A certain shift in ruling party turning leftist is visible. It is evident in the messages and language. It can impact the way in which ruling party sees development in the coming future.
As far as this session is concerned, it will not be as productive as the last one. There will be legislative enhancements in moving forward on other bills like Real Estate and GST. The rail budget will also get passed. Though it won’t be same as the last time, certain bills will certainly move forward, Bhattacharya concluded.
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