Indian Parliament adjourned over land acquisition bill

The Indian Parliament was Tuesday adjourned after it witnessed uproar with opposition parties slamming the government over a controversial ordinance to amend the country's land acquisition act.

The pandemonium started when the Indian government introduced a bill to replace the ordinance in Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) without a debate, prompting the main opposition Congress party to stage a walkout and forcing the speaker to adjourn the house.

The Rajya Sabha (upper house of Parliament) also witnessed similar scenes, with the Congress and other opposition parties cornering the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government over the land acquisition bill.

The government defended its stand, with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley saying it is well within its rights to take the ordinance route. "The reasoning that ordinances are to circumvent or bypass Parliament is not rational. The previous government took the path several times," he said in Rajya Sabha.

A furious Congress responded. "You expect Parliament to rubber stamp your ordinances... you don't send anything to the Standing Committee," senior leader Anand Sharma said.

The land ordinance has to be passed by both the houses in the next few weeks or they will lapse.

The BJP is in a majority in Lok Sabha but in a minority in the Rajya Sabha and needs the support of opposition parties to pass laws in that house. Endi