Some CMs who backed land bill earlier now opposing it : Jaitley
Addressing a press conference in the capital following the NITI Aayog meeting chaired by the Prime Ministe, claimed that several Chief Ministers had earlier agreed the land bill amendments.ind
"Some Chief Ministers who earlier agreed to the amendments in the land bill later opposed it," he said, adding that land was "urgently required for development".
Many opposition chief ministers skipped the meeting called mainly to discuss the government's controversial land acquisition bill.
"Those who chose to boycott must introspect whether not attending is in consonance with the spirit of cooperative federalism," said Jaitley.
Among the chief ministers belonging to opposition parties only Nitish Kumar and Arvind Kejriwal respectively from Bihar and Delhi attended the meet.
Briefing reporters after the meeting the Finance Minister said Nitish Kumar is of the view that time was not right for the land bill. Kejriwal said the bill's provisions should be tested first.
Jaitley said most states were not able to implement the Land Acquisition Act passed in 2013 by the previous Congress government. "There was a common view raised by many States that the Land Acquisition Act needs to be amended," he said.
The Finance Minister also said that many chief ministers felt the delay in implementing the land bill was slowing development projects.
He suggested that the Centre must either evolve a consensus on the land bill or give flexibility to states to frame their own laws.
West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee did not attend the meeting; she wrote to the PM saying she could not attend as her party opposes the bill and wants it withdrawn.
Naveen Patnaik from Odisha and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav pleaded prior engagements.
The Congress' nine chief ministers did not attend, but the Left's Manik Sarkar of Tripura did.
Jaitley said the Prime Minister promised that the Centre will take into account all the suggestions made by the states and that the government will make it a priority to ensure that development is not stalled.
A joint committee of Parliament is reviewing the bill after Opposition parties stalled it in the last session.
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