Before granting assent to the ordinance cleared by the Union Cabinet on Monday, amending the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, President Pranab Mukherjee asked the NDA government to explain the urgency behind the ordinance.
Article 123 empowers the President to promulgate an ordinance when the Parliament is not in session, but he has to be certain that there are adequate circumstances to warrant urgent legislative action.
It was only after three senior ministers — Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda and Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari — put forth the government’s viewpoint and persuaded the President about the need to move swiftly, that Mukherjee signed on the dotted line to promulgate the ordinance on Wednesday.
It is learnt that the three ministers met Mukherjee on Wednesday to explain why the government was in a hurry to get the ordinance promulgated to amend the law, rather than wait for the next Parliament session.
– Maneesh Chhibber & Abantika Ghosh
Read full story at The Indian Express