Kejriwal, Anna Hazare, Shiv Sena And Akali Dal: BJP Blinks On Land Acquisition Bill As Allies Become Opponents

Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have urged the party's MPs to bust the 'myths' surrounding the amendments to the Land Acquisition Bill and defend it aggressively in Parliament, but in the face of renewed opposition from allies like the Shiv Sena and Shiromani Akali Dal, the BJP has taken the first step at modifying the legislation to incorporate farmers' suggestions in it.

On Tuesday, before a day of chaos in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha over the bill, the Prime Minister had urged the party's MPs to defend the law saying that the party would never act against the interests of the country's farmers.
However, by evening the government was facing dissent from even its own allies, who were opposed to the legislation being cleared by Parliament in its present form.

The Shiv Sena, which is the second largest party in the National Democratic Alliance that the BJP heads, boycotted a meeting held on Tuesday evening by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu to seek their views on the bill.

In a statement issued by the party, Shiv Sena party head Uddhav Thackeray said that there was no question of supporting any law that went against the interest of farmers and told the BJP that the nation's farmers had brought it to power by placing their trust in the party.

"Do not commit the sin of squeezing the throat of the farmers," he said, adding that the party wasn't opposed to economic development but couldn't allow it to take place through forced acquisition of land.

The BJP's ally in Punjab, Shiromani Akali Dal, was present at the meeting but also voiced its opposition to the bill saying that farmers were unhappy with the proposed changes and that an alternative needed to be found.

“We are also opposed to the changes to Section 24 of the Act that narrows down the scope of the retrospective clause by reducing the number of beneficiaries,”Prem Singh Chandumajra, the party's MP was quoted as saying in an Indian Express report.

A smaller ally, Raju Shetti of the Swabhimani Paksha also voiced his opposition to the law in its current form.

The opposition from allies came on the same day that the Anna Hazare-led protest against the bill acquired more muscle with former aide and now Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also joining the agitation.

"If the amendment bill is passed, then this government will become a dalal, it will become property dealer for big companies. We vehemently oppose the bill. The current government should learn a lesson. People had whole-heartedly supported BJP in May and ensured their victory in the Lok Sabha polls. But after 8-9 months, due to their policies, people have uprooted BJP," Kejriwal said to cheers at the rally in Jantar Mantar.

The Congress, which staged a walkout in the Lok Sabha against the legislation, has also promised to continue its battle against the new law that seeks to amend the law passed by the UPA government.

The RSS has also in the past warned the BJP that the legislation could harm the party in state elections later in the year as well, and has also attributed part of the blame for the debacle in the Delhi Assembly election on the contentious law.

Despite its initial stance, the BJP has now blinked in the face of such vehement opposition and has started by forming a eight-member committee to seek farmers' suggestions on the bill. The committee which was formed by party president Amit Shah, came after two days of deliberations within the party on how to counter the opposition to the law.

Former Union Minister Satyapal Malik is the convener of the committee which comprises seven party MPs, including Malik, and has a chartered accountant too. The committee is to hold discussions with farmers and other organisations on land acquisition.

The BJP has also countered with a media campaign against the opposition to the law but as we have pointed out earlier, the government may be willing to put the contentious law in cold storage for this session of Parliament in order to pass other economic legislation that it had earlier passed ordinances for and is seen as equally important for economic development.

Despite the aggressive stance that it has adopted so far, the BJP may have little choice but to bend in order to ensure other legislation gets a clear path in the Rajya Sabha, where it lacks a majority.

The Prime Minister reaching out to other parties ahead of the Parliament session may ensure that all the other legislation is cleared, but despite his instruction to the party's MPs not to back down in Parliament, the party may be readying to fight the battle on land acquisition another day.