Land ordinance 'backdoor entry', take it back: Congress

Charging that the land acquisition ordinance was a "backdoor" entry by the government, the Congress on Monday sought its withdrawal and pressed for retaining the 2013 Land Act.

"You (the government) brought the ordinance in the form of the land acquisition bill (in Lok Sabha). Despite the strong opposition, the bill was passed and was later sent to Rajya Sabha, where it was dropped," Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said.

Kharge was speaking in the Lok Sabha that reconvened on Monday for the budget session after nearly a month-long recess.

"But it was later brought back as ordinance against the will of the people. You brought it through backdoor," he said, adding that it was "not required" because the government was trying to "impose" it on the people.

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Ordinance, which was first promulgated on December 31, 2014, could not become law in the first half of the budget session of Parliament due to stiff opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

The land acquisition ordinance was re-promulgated on April 3, a day before it was to lapse.

The Congress, however, demanded that the government withdraw the ordinance and retain the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 that was "passed unanimously" in the parliament.