Land Acquisition Amendment Bill introduced in LS, Cong stages walkout

Soon after the Bill was introduced, the Congress raised strong opposition and staged a walkout protesting against the move.

According to majority of Oppositions, the Bill was against the farmers' prospects.

Senior MP Mallikarjun Kharge lead the Congress protest against Land Bill.

Samajwadi party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said his party will also protest against the Land Bill adding the government is not taking opposition on board on the issue.

NCP Chief Sharad Pawar also backed the oppositions and said: "We are supporting opposition parties on the Land Acquisition Bill. We don't have objection to Insurance and other Bills, but in Land Acquisition Bill the social impact assessment and consent clause has been dropped, so we will not support it."

Even Swabhimani Paksha(SWP) opposed the Bill. "Though we are in alliance with NDA, but then also I oppose the Land Bill strongly," said Raju Shetty, SWP MP.

Meanwhile, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu said, "We want discussion and debate on the Bill. This is not the way to discuss."

However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked BJP MPs to bust the "myths" propagated by opposition parties on Land Bill.

The opposition to the Bill just not came from inside the Parliament as a farmers' protest by social activist Anna Hazare in the national capital raged outside.

It was expected that fireworks will follow over the introduction of the bill and the slew of ordinances brought by the government.

Both Congress and Trinamool Congress attacked the government in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha over the Ordinance route taken by the government.

Trinamool also protested outside at the entrance of Parliament.

However, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley defened the government saying it is well within its rights to take the ordinance route. "The reasoning that ordinances are to circumvent or bypass Parliament is not rational. The UPA took the path several times,"  Jaitley told the Rajya Sabha where the ruling BJP-led NDA does not have requisite number unlike its overwhelming majority in Lok Sabha.

Top leaders of the ruling BJP met on Monday evening  also decided that the government will withdraw from the Rajya Sabha bills on insurance, coal and the motor vehicles act that seek approval for the government's other ordinances, media reports said.

While there have been several protests against the introduction of the bill including severe threat of agitation from  Anna Hazare, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said ahead of the Budget Session that in  a democracy, there should be dialogue, discussion and positive outcome.

He sought cooperation of all parties to ensure that important legislations were done in the budget session.

Leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress leader  Ghulam Nabi Azad said,  "We won't be supporting an anti-people ordinance." 

He said  there was no need to make amendments in the law its government enacted and which the BJP had then supported.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will join Anna Hazare protest on Tuesday.