Shiban Khaibri
To give bad name to the animal and to hang it, as the saying goes, underlines the motive , the intent and the purposes of some opposition Parties to oppose the Land Acquisition (amendment) Bill just because an opportunity has arisen to corner, oppose and criticize the BJP led NDA Government. Let the words be not minced , the fear is what if 2019 general elections too are lost by the “secular” Parties, hence to preempt that scenario, the ground work for that needs to be done right from now when an issue has come handy in the form of the Land Bill. Employing much more than the conventional “Saam, Dhand , Bedh” into the elections to Delhi Assembly by the Aa Aa Party right from the moment of miserably losing the General Elections and employing all tricks under the sky, has widened the prospects of coming true the dreams of the “secular” brigade to form a kichadi sarkar in 2019 even if the premise was to be quite unmindful of the dormancy of the economy, growth and employment but being “committed to secularism”.
Hence the old Janata Parivar coming out of its political hibernation as a joint entity and Sharad Yadav of JD(U), Lallu Yadav of RJD, Mulayam Singh of the SP and of course Nitish Kumar all set to forge a unity for what they say “to keep the BJP at bay”. The big question, however, is why to keep the BJP “at bay”? It is quite ludicrous on the part of Mulayam Singh to say that “Modi ko chain say baithney nahin dengay” or “we won’t let Modi sit at any ease”. So the issue is explicit, Land Bill is just an alibi. It is intriguing that the Lok Sabha adopting necessary amendments as desired by the opposition in the said bill passes the same but the opposition stalls it in the Rajya Sabha. More than a quarter and a century old obsolete, anti farmer, anti poor land laws attempted to be belatedly changed by the UPA2 Government was fully supported by the present dispensation in 2013 and further improved upon as regards compensation and acceptability clauses. How can the same be termed as anti farmer, anti poor and pro corporate. The point at issue is the rural development first through the Land Acquisition followed by other options but the most important one being a conducive climate for generating investment to generate employment, one of the main challenges faced by our economy.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu recently made a frantic appeal to all opposition Parties to see the reason and not oppose the bill just blindly and instead come out with constructive suggestions, the Government being there with an open mind. He made it clear that the NDA government did not do it in any haste but held wide discussions with 32 states and union territories on the matter. As many as 28 states invited, expressed the apprehensions that acquiring land under the statute of 2013 was quite impossible. Since there were j4 lac crore worth projects getting mired in various litigations for various reasons and clauses, the NDA government brought the ordinance. These projects are critical to employment generation, rural infrastructure, manufacturing and industrial growth. As far as the question of compensation was concerned, the Minister assured that the Bill envisaged compensation as many as four times the prevailing market price of the land. Then, why this opposition?
This is sheer stubbornness on the part of Congress thinking to somehow better its lot of relevance in the changed political firmament if it stresses upon the 2013 version to replace the present NDA ordinance on the Land Acquisition, refined and widened in its scope and acceptability. The political stand of the Congress Party is unacceptable that come what may, in no circumstances whatsoever, was it going to accept or support the Land Bill. Is Congress Party conscious of the lacunae in its 2013 version whereby even for a minor irrigation project for rural agricultural purposes, land could not be acquired? The present Government has made it clear that even for schools, hospitals etc in the private sector, no land would be acquired excepting only for government institutions and bodies. Those engaged in agricultural labour and activities, their active participation in the developmental process was an integral part of the land acquisition and one member each from the affected family was going to be absorbed in the government job. The ambiguities about the industrial corridors too have been removed and only up to 1 km of land on both sides of the rail or road ways would be acquired. The Congress should instead look into the shortcomings in its 2013 bill where many vital issues were ignored to be incorporated in the Land Bill and not considered at all which were much more important for development and growth. Some of them are Coal Areas, mines, National Highways, Atomic Energy, Indian Tramways and Railways, Monuments and old heritages, Petroleum and mineral pipelines, Electricity, immovable Properties, Metro Railways and host other issues very vital to the economic growth. These were left out by the Congress Party. How can it and other Parties take up the plea that the bill in question was anti farmer?
The main issue before the Congress Party is how to make its proposed “Kissan Rally” turn into repairing its sagging morale with 44 in the Lok Sabha. All efforts are underway to see it becoming an event to embarrass the Modi government but the fear that farmers in expected number cannot turn up for the rally being busy with harvesting is going to upset Congress’s apple cart of a bid to pave a small way to stage some come back. However, in the mean time, through the proposed rally, it wants to divert the attention of the people, especially those of the ground level workers who question and are sore about Rahul Gandhi’s absence and his proceeding on unearned but granted “as a special case” long sabbatical for reasons known to him only. Is he the only future hope of the Congress Party who as an MP proved to be least enthusiastic about attending and actively participating in the budget session of the Parliament? The message went across the country that once out of power, Congress leadership is found in deep disarray and the “concern” about their conventional “Aam Aadmi and the poor” gets waned, withered and weary. Doubts and discontent are simmering and getting deep and delved about who can steer the old Party out of the present state of affairs and opposing Land Acquisition Bill for achieving any such objective may prove therapeutically as no cure.
Let us now break the vicious circle of retrograde red tape, obsolete policies, non performance, snail’s speed reforms, economic dormancy and anti – investment scenario. Let those opposing the Land Bill not make a joke of the peoples’ will as they see in Modi a harbinger of economic take off . We have wasted enough time in discussing and draining our energies on non- issues while other countries made long leaps of progress. The unemployed youth of our country who swell by nearly 10 crores every year have to be given work and for that investment on a vast scale is needed, nothing can happen without land. If the proposed Law needs certain changes, let through discussions and healthy debates be those changes and amendments be brought about but making an issue out of it to keep “at bay” the ruling Party shall prove counterproductive. Compulsions of Janta Parivar and the left supported by the Congress to forge some sort of unity is purely on the fear of losing 2019 as well, opposing Land Bill perhaps won’t help in that.
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