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The unification of the six parties that had once been part of the erstwhile Janata Dal spells trouble for the central government’s land ordinance.
The government isn’t sure if the Samajwadi Party, which is a part of the putative Samajwadi Janata Dal (SJD) , would support its ordinance in the Rajya Sabha.
After months of planning, the SJD—comprising Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal (Secular), Samajwadi Janata Party and Indian National Lok Dal— announced their merger on April 15, with Mulayam Singh Yadav as its president.
Last month, the Samajwadi Party (SP)—which runs the Uttar Pradesh government —had indicated that it might not go along with the Congress and the Left parties in opposing the land ordinance in the Rajya Sabha, where the government is in a minority. With 15 members in the Upper House, the SP could have been a crucial ally.
But the other members of the SJD—especially the Bihar parties such as Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) and Lalu Prasad’s RJD —have decided to oppose the ordinance. They see the land issue as a rallying point against the Modi government in the Bihar Assembly elections later this year, and SP now is more likely to support its allies than the government. The six SJD parties together have 30 members in the 244-strong Upper House.
A senior minister said the government could also explore the possibility of a joint sitting of Parliament. “Just like the time the Prevention of Terrorism Act (in 2002) was passed, we might convene a joint session to get the land ordinance passed. This government is committed to the land ordinance,” he said.
The government is likely to place a bill to replace the land ordinance in Lok Sabha once Parliamentary proceedings resume on Monday. The bill, as things stand, is unlikely to be passed in Rajya Sabha but the Opposition will rather demand that it be sent to a select committee than ensure its defeat on the floor of the House. The government can call a joint session only if the bill is defeated.
The government has also decided to mark its first anniversary by stressing on its pro-poor governance model.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the senior leadership will hold a daylong workshop—”Garib Kalyan Yojanayein’—for party MPs on Sunday. The workshop would focus on the effective implementation of the schemes and the role of a member of Parliament. The workshop, in association with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vice-president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe-headed training and research academy Rambhau Mhalagi Prabodhini, will also have a session conducted by the rural development minister, Chaudhary Birender Singh, on the pro-farmer aspects of the contentious land Bill.
The BJP MPs will be briefed about the government’s pro-poor policies that they should take to the people with the help of the local bureaucracy.
Speakers will include Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, senior ministers Thawar Chand Gehlot, Sushma Swaraj and M Venkaiah Naidu.
The BJP will hold a similar workshop for private secretaries and personal assistants of MPs.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is slated to address a farmer’s rally at the Ramlila Grounds in New Delhi that day.
