New Delhi: Congress today declared that its opposition to the land acquisition ordinance was non-negotiable and said it will “walk the extra mile” to ensure that it was withdrawn and the provisions of UPA's land Act restored.
Party spokesman Randeep Surjewala also attacked the BJP- led government for introducing the Bill in Lok Sabha today to replace the ordinance despite three Union Ministers giving assurances suggesting that all stakeholders would be taken on board.
“Can tyranny of the majority in Lok Sabha be an excuse for breaking the national consensus?” Surjewala asked at an AICC briefing.
He alleged that the “clear intent” of the government was to call a joint session of both the Houses to “bulldoze” through the amendments to the land Act.
The numbers are heavily stacked against the government in Rajya Sabha.
Surjewala also took potshots at the government after the opposition in Rajya Sabha scuttled its move to withdraw three Bills, including one on FDI in insurance.
The government wants to withdraw these Bills, introduced in the last session, from the Upper House possibly with a view to introducing these in Lok Sabha to replace the ordinances.
The opposition today refused to support the government's motion for withdrawing these Bills without a discussion as it questioned the intention behind the move.
“Sensing a political defeat and embarrassment, the government deferred it,” he said.
Demanding that the government forthwith withdraw the Bill replacing the ordinance, which he termed “ill conceived and anti-farmer”, Surjewala said that the Land Acquisition Act had been brought in 2013 after the widest possible consultations.
Alleging that the BJP's volte-face now on the measure amounted to “rank political dishonesty”, he claimed that the ruling dispensation had “murdered the soul and spirit” of the Act by bringing in the amendments.
Meanwhile, asked whether Congress would support the ordinance if the government comes out with some new amendments, he said, “We will cross the bridge when we come to it.”
