Land Acquisition Bill likely to be passed in Lok Sabha tomorrow

Before the Holi break, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured both Houses he would take the Opposition on board on key legislation. The government is keen to accommodate the concerns of the Opposition on the land law and is learnt to have restricted the definition of a private body which acquires land for its projects. The Opposition had attacked the government for substantially diluting key provisions of the Bill.

The government seems to have conveyed to the Opposition that it would move an official amendment replacing the term “private entity” with “private enterprise” in the contentious land Bill, which will restrict those in the private sector who plan to acquire land. The Opposition had expressed concerns that a private individual may pass off as a “private entity” to acquire land.

The government is also making an all-out effort to reach out to the Opposition on Monday to get the key reform legislations passed by the Rajya Sabha. Sources said finance minister Arun Jaitley, rural development minister Birender Singh and parliamentary affairs minister M. Venkaiah Naidu would meet leaders of political parties in the Lok Sabha to discuss the issue concerning the land Bill on Monday morning.

The Union ministers are learnt to have held parleys on Sunday to get the Opposition on board for getting the bills passed in both the Houses. The government is hoping that the Lok Sabha would pass the land Bill on Tuesday after two days of discussion. However, it’s the Rajya Sabha where the government is bracing up for getting the Insurance Bill passed, with the Left and Trinamool Congress strongly opposed to the legislative proposal. The Congress has also not taken a clear stand to give confidence to the ruling alliance.