As part of its effort to push through the land bill in Parliament in this session with the help of regional parties, the Narendra Modi government reached out to the Biju Janata Dal today, sources told NDTV. Efforts are also on to bring on board the Trinamool Congress, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and allies Akali Dal and the Shiv Sena, they said.
Power and coal minister Piyush Goel met Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Delhi today. Also, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee met PM Modi to discuss financial help for her state.
The Trinamool Congress has been vociferous about the land bill and after the meeting, the party chief ruled out backing it.
There were indications that the government may also consult the TMC before working on the amendments for the land bill.
The land bill, which was discussed in Lok Sabha today, is up for voting tomorrow. But getting it passed in Rajya Sabha, the upper house, where the government is in minority, is a hurdle. In the last session, several bills, including the land bill, got blocked in Rajya Sabha in face of a united opposition.
PM Modi was said to have been against any dilution of the land bill. But sources said the government was considering some amendments after Akali Dal and Shiv Sena pointed that the bill was considered anti-farmer and it was important to remove the perception.
PM Modi Hails Defence Giant Lockheed Martin's Make In India, Make For World Drive Gujarat To Provide Rented Accommodation To Construction Workers For Rs 5 Per Day BJP Accuses Congress Of Inciting Violence Against PM Modi With 'Maut' And 'Hinsa' Remarks Massive Worldwide Microsoft Outage: Flights, Markets, Stock Exchange Down CrowdStrike Falcon Sensor: The Culprit Behind World's Biggest IT Outage "Fix Deployed": CEO Of Firm Behind Global Microsoft Outage Microsoft Outage "Affecting IT Operations" Paris Olympics Organisers In Jaw-Dropping Video, 12-Foot King Cobra Rescued And Released In Karnataka Biden Or Trump, It's Still A Long Wait For Indian 'Dreamers' In US Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.