New Delhi: Just days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled meeting with chief ministers of all states to discuss the controversial Land Acquisition Bill, it emerged on Saturday that CMs of states ruled by the Congress party may not attend that meeting.
ANI quoted sources as saying that chief ministers of Congress-ruled states are unlikely to attend the PM's meeting on Land Bill.
PM Modi's meeting with CMs is the latest attempt by the government to break the deadlock over the controversial legislation.
As part of its pro-industry agenda, the Narendra Modi government has been determined to push through the Land Bill that seeks to exempt land purchases for certain industrial, housing and infrastructure projects from requiring the consent of 80 percent of landowners.
Opposition parties have staunchly resisted the Bill, calling it `anti-farmer`. Lawmakers in Rajya Sabha, led by the opposition Congress party, have repeatedly blocked the legislation.
To build consensus, the government has introduced several amendments to the Bill and formed a parliamentary committee to examine compensation clauses and resettlement of farmers.
Modi has asked the panel to submit its report at the beginning of the upcoming Monsoon Session, but the committee has appealed for more time.
Modi has called the second meeting of the governing council of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, a government think tank, for July 15, about a week before the Monsoon Session of Parliament is set to begin.
The meeting will have "many items on the agenda," economist and NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy told Reuters. But the focus of the meeting will be the Land Bill, according to two senior sources with knowledge of the arrangements.
The Monsoon Session is expected to be a tumultuous one, with contentious Land, Labour and GST Bills on the table, and simmering political scandals threatening to disrupt proceedings.
(With Reuters inputs)
