Panel slams govt over officials ‘absence’

Fireworks were witnessed on Thursday at a meeting of a Parliamentary Committee on land with Opposition members slamming the government over "absence" of its officers and terming it as an "insult" to the panel.

Sources say that it was NCP Chief Sharad Pawar, who began the attack on the government in the meeting after none of the four Secretaries, who were supposed to appear before it, could make it.

The Committee on July 6 had decided to summon secretaries of concerned ministries on July 16 to listen to their views of the amendments to the 2013 Act. The members had decided that if the government was able to reply to their queries on July 16, the panel could take up clause-by-clause consideration of the bill from July 22. The secretaries from Legal Affairs, Legislative Department, Rural Development and Commerce Ministries, and top officials from Railways were expected to appear before the panel. It was learnt that Amitabh Kanth, Secretary DIPP was abroad while other Secretary was attending some meeting.