 "Sangh Parivar affiliates to oppose land bill changes in parliamentary joint committee")
The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) and Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), the workers' and peasants' unions respectively, of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, are shooting off presentations to the parliamentary joint committee demanding they be given time to put forth their views to the 30-member committee. The BKS sent its presentation on Wednesday, while Mazdoor Sangh General Secretary Virjesh Upadhyay said his union has collated suggestions of its cadre from across India and send it to the committee on Friday. These outfits are opposed to some of the amendments, demand that the government clarify some others and also plan to suggest alternatives to acquiring cultivable land.
The Mazdoor Sangh will suggest that the government look at the substantial land lying unutilized with sick PSUs or public sector undertakings. "According to government estimates, there is as much as two lakh acres of land (nearly 81,000 hectares) with sick PSUs at prime locations. Why not give this to industry instead of acquiring cultivated land," BMS Organising Secretary Pawan Kumar said. The Mazdoor Sangh also wants a clearer definition of the clause related to providing employment to one member of the family of those who till the land. The BMS says that only a rare farmer keeps a minimum wage register, and such a provision will open him to questions and harassment by the district administration whether minimum wage or bonus were duly paid to workers. "There is also no proposal to upgrade the skills of this one member of a family to be given employment. These will be unskilled farmers and the government should make suitable amendment to the Apprenticeship Act to provide for skill upgradation," Kumar said.
BKS General Secretary Prabhakar Kelkar said the outfit has demanded from the joint committee that it be given time to put forth its perspectives on the proposed amendments to the Land Act of 2013. "We have emailed our views to the committee. We oppose doing away with the consent and social impact assessment clauses," Kelkar said.
The 2013 Act provided for consent of 80 per cent of owners. This has been done away with in respect of five sectors, including infrastructure. The Kisan Sangh supports consent be taken of at least 51 per cent of the owners. The BKS has also demanded that land owners should get a share in the profits if the land use is changed after it is acquired, and that farmers should be allowed to lease rent their land.
In a related development, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) is unlikely to withdraw from the joint committee proceedings. The party had earlier announced it was considering "boycotting" the joint committee if the land ordinance is repromulgated, and that its central committee will take a final decision at its meeting this weekend. However, party MP Mohammad Salim, the lone CPI (M) member in the committee, said he will oppose government's proposed amendments from within the committee. "We will continue to oppose the government's disrespect of Parliament by unleashing an ordinance raj," he said. The party is of the view that its MP should put his dissent to the amendments on the record.
The last day for sending submissions to the committee is June 5. These submissions will then be circulated among the 30 members of the SS Ahluwalia headed committee before its next meeting on Monday. As many as 11 of its members are BJP MPs, and another three of its allies.