Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday appealed to the opposition parties to support the land acquisition bill and other important legislations to be taken up during the second half of the budget session of parliament, beginning next week.
He said there should be constructive debate and the opposition parties should give meaningful suggestions.
"I have very humble request to all political parties. Please don't create obstacles in the growth of the country. Extend support and give rational suggestions. The government is open to suggestions," Naidu told reporters here.
Stating that the government has already brought nine amendments to the land acquisition bill, he said it was still prepared to incorporate any constructive suggestions.
"Land bill is the need of hour and we are running against time to catch up with lost opportunities. The world is moving faster and India cannot lag behind," he said.
"Parliament should prove to be an enabler rather than play ground for political and obstructionist battles," he said while urging the Congress and the Left parties not to oppose the bill for the sake of opposing.
More From This Section
Stating that the first half of the session went on very well, he sought cooperation of the opposition in passing the important bills during the second part of the session session.
Claiming that the government wants to accelerate the pace of growth, Naidu hoped that the opposition parties will understand mandate and mood of the people and also the rationale and objectives of the government.
Stating that there is overwhelming desire among people for growth, he said growth was possible only if projects were created, and for building the projects land was required.
Dismissing the criticism by the Congress party that the ordinance and the law were brought in haste, the minister said 32 states, including the states ruled by the Congress, were consulted.
He pointed out that former commerce minister Anand Sharma and former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chouhan had demanded amendments to the land acquisition bill.
He said Congress leaders like Jairam Ramesh had unleashed "irresponsible" and "Goebbelian type propaganda" over the land acquisition bill.
The minister made it clear that the government will not do anything against the interests of farmers.
Naidu said besides land acquisition bill, parliament will also take up during the second half other important bills like the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, the Goods and Services Tax Bill and the Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax) Bill.
The other bills to come up for debate during the session are Arbitration and Conciliation Bill, Constitutional Scheduled Castes Order Amendment Bill, Warehousing Corporations Bill, Payment and Settlements Systems Bill, Regional Rural Banks Bill, Repeal and Amending Bill and the Delhi High Court Bill.