S.S. Ahluwalia, chairperson of the Joint Parliamentary Committee examining the controversial land acquisition Bill, has written to the Lok Sabha Speaker requesting a week’s extension to submit its report.
Instead of submitting the report on the opening day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, the panel now has asked for time till the first day of the second week.
The panel says not all the State governments have given their responses to the committee. Even the Hindi translation of the proceedings is taking time. But for the government, the signs are not propitious. Not only have all the RSS affiliates which have made representations to the committee opposed the Bill in its present form, it is learnt that a majority of the States, too, hold similar views.
On Tuesday, another RSS-front organisation, the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, will present its views to the panel.
On Monday, while most of those who met the committee were opposed to the Bill in its present form, the Vice-Chancellor of the Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University was a little more positive about it — the first after the industry-organisations, the CII and the FICCI.
