Senior ministers discuss Sukma attack, famers' issues

Senior central ministers met at the residence of union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday for an "informal" meeting which discussed the Maoist attack at Sukma in Chhattisgarh and the issues concerning farmers, informed sources here said.

The meeting was held in the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a three-nation visit.

The sources said that Rajnath Singh chaired the meeting which looked into the security measures taken in view of the Maoist attack in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh in which seven Special Task Force (STF) personnel were gunned down on Saturday.

Rajnath Singh had spoken to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh after the incident and reinforcements of Central Reserve Police Force were rushed to the area.

Sources said the meeting was attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

The sources said that the land bill and the agenda for the second half of the budget session of parliament were also discussed.

The National Democratic Alliance government faces a major challenge in getting the land bill passed in the Rajya Sabha where it lacks majority. The house will reconvene on April 23 while the Lok Sabha will meet after recess on April 20.

The Congress and several other opposition parties are firmly opposed to the land bill which was passed in the Lok Sabha with nine official amendments in the first half of the budget session.

As the bill could not be passed in the Rajya Sabha, the ordinance on land bill was re-promulgated.

The Congress is planning to hold a big rally on the land bill on April 19 and has accused the government of not doing enough for farmers whose crops have been damaged in the recent unseasonal rains.