Few legislators in Parliament have the patience to debate the merits and demerits of the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill the Modi government is determined to push through, even as an equally determined and united Opposition with the Congress in the vanguard is gearing to stall the legislation. The BJP argument, that unless land acquisition is made simpler and easier it will be difficult for the private sector to set up manufacturing units to kick-start the economy, does not have many takers. After close to a year in office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is getting restless to accelerate the reform agenda. During this short period at the helm of affairs, Modi mostly talked about the grand dreams he has for the country. There was no real activity on the ground, though the macro-economic figures started looking positive. 

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When the BJP government issued the ordinance with regard to land acquisition, waiving off some of the important clauses like the social impact assessment and consent of 80 per cent of the owners whose land was being acquired, there was a surge of protest and anger, not just from the political parties in the opposition, but also from civil society groups and farmers’ lobbies. The government argues that no land can ever be acquired because of the difficulty posed by the clause of securing consent from 80 per cent of farmers. And that this would not allow for industrial growth, which is vital for the overall economic progress of the country. The BJP is caught in the same dilemma as the Left Front government was with regard to Singur and Nandigram before 2011. The CPI-M leaders had then argued that agriculture cannot sustain the livelihoods of the people and there is need to provide alternative jobs, which is only possible through industrialisation. 

The Congress and the other opposition parties have been quick to realise the political potential of the amended bill and corner the government. However hard the government may try to defend the bill, the popular perception appears to have veered to the law being anti-farmer in its essence. Little wonder then that the Opposition — in order to extract political mileage — has portrayed the Modi government as being anti-farmer and pro-private corporate. The BJP and Prime Minister Modi seem to be losing the propaganda war. The government is clearly on the back foot. 

The Congress is using the opportunity to retrieve the political ground it has been steadily losing since the 2014 Lok Sabha election. With just 44 members in the Lok Sabha, the premier national party was nearly reduced to the status of a political cipher. Confusion and ennui engulfed the party, especially with the uncertainty over whether Rahul Gandhi will take up the party’s reins, and, even if he does so, whether he is the right man to steer the party away from the brink of disaster. Perhaps the Congress president Sonia Gandhi has sought to allay some of these worries by rallying her own party as well as joining hands with the 14 opposition parties in visibly and vocally opposing the BJP’s proposed amendments to the land bill. On Tuesday, she led the party’s members of Parliament (MPs) along with other Opposition MPs in a march to the Rashtrapati Bhavan and gave a memorandum to President Pranab Mukherjee, urging him not to sign an ordinance on the land bill — if it is re-promulgated by the government after the earlier one lapses on April 5. The Congress is using all parliamentary tactics as well, taking advantage of the majority it enjoys in the Upper House. For example, it is insisting on referring the bill in the Rajya Sabha to a House Select Committee. However, the jury is still to out on whether the Congress would manage to revive not only itself, but also act as the opposition pivot through renewed political activity in and outside Parliament.