Lapsing of land ordinance not a setback: BJP

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 31

A day before the executive order bringing in the 13 excluded central legislations under the purview of the 2013 land Act comes into force, the BJP today said that the decision of not re-promulgating the controversial land ordinance was not a setback for the government. 

It blamed the Congress for misleading the nation on the Bill critical for farmers' uplift and development. The party rejected the Opposition's charge of U-turn on the issue.

Congress leader Anand Sharma asked PM Narendra Modi to "apologise to the nation for wasting 10 months of development". The Left parties saw red in the PM's “saving trick” of including 13 exempted points in the order. 

Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who addressed the media along with Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh, said the move of not re-promulgating the ordinance was not a setback.

“In the statecraft, you do your best to take everyone on board,” she said. 

“The government is committed to reforms and has done its best on the issue. We do not want a political stalemate. We have done as much as was required,” the minister said. 

She said the final decision would be after the Joint Committee submits its report in the winter session of Parliament. 

The Commerce Minister hoped that the states, which could formulate land laws as per their needs, would consider the farmers' interests as well as industrial development.