Pawar recalled that the Land Acquisition Bill passed in 2013 was drafted by a committee headed by him. "All suggestions by the then Leaders of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley were incorporated and the Bill was passed unanimously. Why was a decision made to scrap the Act and bring amendments," he asked.
NCP President Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said his party will not support the land ordinance in its present form as it does not favour removal of several crucial clauses and will vote against it in the Rajya Sabha.
"I have spoken to a number of political parties who are opposed to the ordinance. The government may bulldoze it in the Lok Sabha based on its majority in the Lower House. But the picture will be different in the Rajya Sabha. The NCP will vote against the ordinance in the Upper House," Pawar told reporters here.
He said the Government has appointed Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari as the pointsman to hold dialogue with the Opposition to support the ordinance's passage in the Parliament. "I have known Gadkari to be polite and open for dialogue. But the language of the letter he has written to all Opposition members asking whether they don't want development and water to farmers as well as defence projects smacks of arrogance of power. It is not the language of dialogue," Pawar said.
The letter is based on the brief he has got from his political bosses, Pawar charged, adding that he has not replied to the letter. Pawar recalled that the Land Acquisition Bill passed in 2013 was drafted by a committee headed by him. "All suggestions by the then Leaders of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley were incorporated and the Bill was passed unanimously. Why was a decision made to scrap the Act and bring amendments," he asked.
"The NCP will not support the land ordinance in its present form as it does not favour removal of several crucial clauses," Pawar said. He said that his party is opposed to the removal of social impact assessment and consent clauses, dilution of the provision of period of five years of return of unused acquired land and the clause that multi-crop irrigated land can also be acquired.
The UPA's Land Acquisition Act had left out the "consent" clause and Social Impact Assessment (SIA) if the land is acquired for national security, defence, rural infrastructure including electrification, industrial corridors and housing for the poor including PPP where ownership of land continues to be vested with the government, Pawar said.
He said that the government can get the land ordinance passed in the Lok Sabha given its absolute majority but will find it difficult in the Rajya Sabha. "The government has an option of joint session of Parliament to get the ordinance passed. But the move is being opposed by many BJP members," he said.
Pawar questioned the priorities of the Narendra Modi government in the field of Agriculture and Industry. "If the purchasing power of 65 per cent of the population is weakened, it will affect the industrial sector as well," he said. Pawar said there was recession in the industrial sector which would result in downsizing of jobs. When asked about the state government's notification regarding the implementation of the land ordinance in Maharashtra, Pawar said, "the notification was a vulgar display of loyalty.
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