File photo of Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari
In yet another attempt to break a deadlock in Parliament, union minister Nitin Gadkari has written to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, activist Anna Hazare and others opposed to the government's land reforms, suggesting an open debate "on any platform."
Sources said Mr Gadkari has been asked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sort out differences over the land acquisition bill, which has been passed by the Lok Sabha, but faces derailment in the Rajya Sabha or upper house, where the government is in a minority.
His letter, Mr Gadkari said today, offers that the government is willing to debate all aspects of the bill and is also willing to make changes if required. "Contrary to projections, the proposed land acquisition law isn't against farmers... It will actually help rural infrastructure, irrigation and road connectivity," the minister said.
"The Narendra Modi-led BJP government has brought significant amendments keeping the interest of farmers and rural development in mind. But some parties and organisations are opposing this bill for political reasons," he said in the letter, adding, "No compromise has been made in the bill with the compensation provisions for land owners. No provision of the bill is anti-farmer."
The opposition has rubbished as "cosmetic," amendments made by the government to its bill before it was passed by the Lok Sabha or Lower House. The Congress has said it will support nothing but the law its government brought in 2013 and that any changes have to be reviewed by a parliamentary committee.
On Wednesday Sonia Gandhi wrote to Anna Hazare, under whose leadership farmers have united against the bill. The Congress president said she shared the 77-year-old activist's concerns about the bill and promised to oppose it everywhere.
Her letter, in reply to one written by Mr Hazare, refers to a march by 14 opposition parties that she led to the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Tuesday.
The government must pass the bill in the Rajya Sabha before April 5, when the ordinance or temporary executive order that it seeks to ratify will lapse.