Congress, BJP call truce; clear decks for food and land bills

The Congress seems to have brokered peace with the main Opposition parties on the crucial food security and land acquisition Bills and ensured that they are not dependent on the whims and fancies of smaller parties. Renu mittal reports

Congress President Sonia Gandhis two big ticket initiatives -- the Food Security Bill and the Land Acquisition Bill -- are finally going to see the light of day next week in Parliament.

It is being billed as co-operation time between Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party with the main Opposition party agreeing to support some of the governments top social sector programmes.

While the food bill comes up before the Lok Sabha on Monday, the land bill -- another key initiative of Sonia -- is slated to come up for discussion on Tuesday with the government agreeing to some of the amendments proposed by the BJP and the Left, clearing the decks for the passage of the bill.

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj had given an amendment that those farmers who do not want to sell their land should be allowed to lease it. That way they will get money as well as retain land ownership.

In the second amendment, she said that since the land acquisition bill was first introduced in Parliament in 2011, many farmers have sold their land but have not received adequate compensation. So 2011 should be the cut off date and these farmers should be included in the provisions of the bill and get compensation according to the new law when enacted.

The government has accepted both the amendments.

Similarly, the government has also accepted the amendments proposed by the Left, one of which is that while the state-level committees would decide the land prices and compensation, it would be better if the role of the Centre is also there to make it fairer.

Interestingly, the amendment of Trinamool leader Mamta Banerjee has not been accepted, but the government has left a window open by inserting the provision that the state government has the right to make their own laws.

The government is working hard to evolve a broader consensus with the BJP and the Left parties to ensure they are not dependent on the whims and fancies of smaller parties who are often more mercurial and difficult to handle.

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Congress, BJP call truce; clear decks for food and land bills