Centre to push Land Acquisition Amendment Ordinance in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: Clearing the decks for re-promulgation of the Land Acquisition Amendment Ordinance, which has met with stiff opposition from various political parties, the BJP government on Friday decided to recommend proroguing of the Rajya Sabha as the executive order expires early next month.

The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs that met here on Friday, decided to recommend to President Pranab Mukherjee the proroguing of the RS a week after both Houses of Parliament were adjourned till April 20. “The Cabinet Committee has decided to recommend prorogation of the RS,” parliamentary affairs minister M. Venkaiah Naidu told reporters after the meet.

Proroguing of the Rajya Sabha was necessary for the government to re-promulgate the ordinance, which lapses April 5. The ordinance cannot be re-issued if the House is not prorogued.

The move indicates that the BJP government will push ahead with the ordinance despite stiff opposition in the Upper House where it lacks numbers. The ordinance, once re-issued, will be tabled in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha again when Parliament reconvenes next month.

Sources told this newspaper that the BJP government had long decided that it would re-issue the ordinance with amendments that were added to the bill during its passage in the Lok Sabha and the recommendation to prorogue was just a formality.

The government will now issue orders to re-promulgate it so that the executive order stays. Sources told this newspaper that the BJP government would give in on some of the demands of the Opposition, partially that of reintroducing the provision of taking farmers’ consent for acquiring land.

"The government would be willing to bring back the consent clause. But we will not agree to 70 per cent as it was the case in the UPA bill. We might bring it down to 51 per cent," the sources said.

The government did not introduce the Land Acquisition Bill in the Rajya Sabha during the first phase of the Budget Session due to lack of numbers. The government had suffered an embarrassment when two bills were sent to select committees before their passage.

The sources also said this is not the first time that a session has been prorogued during the recess. For instance, they explained that the ninth session of the 10th Lok Sabha and 170th Session of the Rajya Sabha were adjourned for recess on May 13, 1994 and to meet on June 13, 1994.

But to promulgate ordinances, the Lok Sabha was prorogued on May 23, 1994 and the following three ordinances were issued, they said.