Govt to push for Land Bill, Oppn won’t blink

Top sources in the government told Millennium Post that, “If there is complete consensus in the report prepared by the committee then we can think of going ahead otherwise we won’t accept it. A decision will only be taken after the Joint Committee of Parliament gives its report.”

“The legislation is already on the table of the house, it may be be part of the agenda. It is not a closed issue and we as a government have always been open to discussion with the Opposition. Let the committee present its report and if the report is unanimous, we will accept it,” added the source. The winter session of Parliament is all set to begin on November 26 and will continue till December 23. The Joint Committee of Parliament headed by BJP MP SS Ahluwalia, is expected to give its report in the first week of the Parliament session.

Meanwhile, the Opposition is steadfast on its refusal to budge from its stand, to include any new changes in the Bill. “This Parliament session will be a stormy one.  We will be ready for a discussion on the Land Bill issue if it comes up in Parliament, but we are clear on our stand that there will be no changes in the original Bill which the UPA government had drafted,” said a top level functionary in the Congress party.

The Congress leader added, “Other issues that we will raise in this session include the debate on intolerance in the country. The issue of intolerance will be our key agenda in the winter session, which has come to light after a series of incidents including the murder of writer MM Kalburgi and the Dadri lynching incident. On the issue of  the Land Bill our stand has been very clear since the beginning, we are not willing to accept any changes to it at all. This government is clearly pro-corporate and anti-farmer.”